J LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 



A Y 

f 






% UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. | 



WINTER HOMES 



INVALIDS 



AN ACCOUNT OF THE VARIOUS LOCALITIES IN EUROPE 

AND AMERICA, SUITABLE FOR CONSUMPTIVES 

AND OTHER INVALIDS DURING THE WINTER 

MONTHS, WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO 

THE CLIMATIC VARIATIONS AT EACH 

PLACE, AND THEIR INFLUENCE 

ON DISEASE. 



BY 

JOSEPH W. HOWE. M.D. 



AUTHOR OF "EMERGENCIES," "THE BREATH," CLINICAL PROFESSOR OF SURGERY 

IN THE MEDICAL DEPARTMENT OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK, VISITING 

SURGEON TO CHARITY HOSPITAL, FELLOW OF THE NEW YORK ACADEMY 

OF MEDICINE, ETC. 



1A 
1/ 



(K^ 




NEW YORK: 

G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS, 

4th Ate. and 33d St. 

1875. 






1*' 






Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 18T4, by 

G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS, 
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington. 



John F. Trow & Son, 

PRINTERS, 

205-213 East vzth Street, 

NEW YORK. 



PREFACE. 



In the preparation of this volume I have en- 
deavored to give a succinct account of the distinc- 
tive climatic features of the various winter resorts 
for invalids, and their influence on disease. The 
subject embraces such an extensive field that much 
statistical and other information has been necessarily 
curtailed, but the principal facts have been enumer- 
ated. In addition to the results of my own personal 
observation in Europe and America, I have investi- 
gated the meteorological records, reports of health 
commissions, and the recorded observations of other 
physicians with reference to each place under con- 
sideration. By this means I have been enabled to 
arrive at a proper estimate of the value of the differ- 
ent climates in the treatment of disease. The ad- 
vantages and disadvantages are clearly set forth, so 
that there can be no difficulty in making a proper 

selection for each invalid. 

J. W. H. 
36 West Twenty-fourth St., 



December, 1874. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



OHAPTEE I. 

Universal Laws 1 ' which are not universal —Fallacies of a 
universal system of treatment — Advantages of a change 
of climate and the diseases which are cured by it — Selec- 
tion of location determined by peculiarities of the disease 
and temperament — Who should go and who should stay 
at home — Consumption, Asthma, Bronchitis, Rheuma- 
tism, Nervous prostration, climate in which they flourish 
and in which they are cured , 1 



CHAPTER II. 



CALIFORNIA. 



Peculiarities of soil and climate — Wet and dry seasons—- 
Direction of mountain ranges — Changes in the climate, 
referable to elevation and exposure to different winds- 
Months of greatest mortality — Malarial diseases — Rain- 
fall — Range of temperature in winter and summer — 
Selection of a suitable residence for consumptives— 
Where to go, how to go, and what to do when you get 
there — Santa Barbara — Freedom from malarial and con- 
tagious diseases — Effects of odor of petrole un — San 
Diego, San Bernardino, San Jose, Calistoga, Monterey, 
San Rafael, and their mineral springs 18 



VI CONTEXTS. 

CHAPTER III. 

FACTS ABOUT FLORIDA. 

Diseases peculiar to the climate — Prevalence of malaria in 
marshy districts — Comparative frequency of malarial dis- 
eases in other parts of the Union — Erroneous statements 
— Climate of Eastern and Western coasts — Wet and dry 
seasons — Thermal variations — Hygrometric records — The 
best locations for patients with consumption and Blight's 
disease of the kidneys — Perils of badly ventilated hotels 
— Effects of bad food and over-exertion — Selection of a 
suitable residence — Mineral Springs — Magnolia — Green 
Cove — St. Augustine — Jacksonville — Enterprise — Pilatka 
— Tampa 38 



CHAPTER IV. 

HEALTH RESORTS EN COLORADO. 

Mountain ranges and natural parks — Atmospheric character- 
istics of various parks depending upon elevation and 
surroundings — Average range of temperature — Eain-fall 
—Differences between day and night temperature — Dis- 
eases which are relieved by residence in Colorado — How 
consumptives are affected by the thin air — Danger from 
hemorrhage— Class of cases to be sent there — Mineral 
springs of Middle Park — Idaho — Manitou — Environs of 
Denver, Georgetown,. Boulder, Greeley, etc 56 



CHAPTER V. 

FIXE FORESTS OF GEORGIA. 

Thermal characteristics of upland districts — Forests of long- 
leaved pine— Changes in atmosphere excited by terebin- 



CONTENTS. VI 1 

thine odors — Effects on lower orders of animal life and 
on consumptives — Rain-fall — Average range of temper- 
ature—Prevalent diseases — Resorts for consumptives or 
rheumatic patients — Mineral springs of Sumter county 
—Catoosa, Madison, etc. — Savannah and its suburbs — 
Malaria 69 



CHAPTER VI. 

HEALTH RESORTS IN THE CAROLINES. 

Geological formation of South Carolina — Eastern, Middle, 
and Western regions — Healthy portions of the State 
— Malarial regions — How the poison may be avoided — 
Thermal variations — Rain-fall — Pitch-pine forests — 
Where consumptives should reside — Mineral springs 
for scrofulous and rheumatic patients — Consumptive 
patients in Aiken — Environs of Charleston — District of 
Spartanburg — Slopes of the Blue Ridge — Glen and Lime- 
stone Springs— North Carolina — Mineral Springs — Mor- 
ganstown — Asheville 80 



CHAPTER VII. 

HEALTH RESORTS IN KENTUCKY. 

Climate of Kentucky — Peculiarities of country — Limestone 
regions — Agricultural products — Thermal variations — 
Rain-fall — The value of mineral spring waters in the 
treatment of diseases — Faith — Diseases which are bene- 
fited by bathing in and drinking mineral waters — Mineral 
springs — Upper and Lower Blue Lick, Big Bone, Masto- 
don, Paroquet, Olympian, Estele, Crab Orchard, Harrods- 
burg — Louisville artesian well — Virginia mineral springs. 93 



Till CONTEXTS. 



CHAPTER Till. 

TARIETIE3 OF CLIMATE IX THE WEST IXDIA ISLAXDS. 

Northern group — The Bahamas — Peculiarities of location 
— Effects of Gulf Stream on the climate — Moisture in 
the atmosphere — Variations of temperature — Rainy- 
seasons — Productions of the soil — Diseases which are 
benefited by a residence hi the Bahamas — New Provi- 
dence — Nassau — Harbor and Turk islands — Middle group 
— Cuba — San Doniingo — St. Vincent — Trinidad — St. 
Croix — St. Thomas — Martinique — Southern group — 
CuraQoa Ill 



CHAPTER IX. 

BEEMUDA ISLAXDS. 

Coraline formations — Where the zoophytes work — Composi- 
tion of coral— Soil prodriced by coral sand and decaying 
vegetation — Location of islands — Trade winds — Prevail- 
ing winds — Thermal characteristics in winter and summer 
— Rain -fall — Prevalent diseases — -Annual mortality — Best 
months for consumptives and other invalids — What to 
eat, drink, and wear — When to exercise — Bermuda, St. 
George, Somerset, Ireland — Towns of Hamilton and St. 
George 128 



CHAPTER X. 

SAXDWICH ISLAXDS. 

Location — Structure of the islands— Thermal variations 
at different altitudes — Climate of northern and southern 
shores — Effects of trade-winds on climate — Rain-fall in 
Hilo and Honolulu — Absorption of moisture by the soil 
— Products of civilization — Prevalent diseases— Resorts 



CONTENTS. IX 

for consumptives — Peculiarities of climate in Oahu,. 
Hawaii, Maui — Three principal towns, Honolulu, Lahai- 
na and Hilo 140 



CHAPTER XI. 

COLD CLIMATES FOR CONSUMPTIVES. 

What class of consumptives require a cold climate — Com- 
parative effects of a warm and cold atmosphere — Care 
to be observed in the selection of suitable cases for treat- 
ment in cold climate — Danger of living in-doors — Minne- 
sota as a sanatarium — Exaggerated accounts of its 
healthfumess — Topography of the State — -Variations of 
temperature at different seasons — Rain-fall — Mortality 
among consumptives — Ratio of recoveries — St. Paul — 
St. Anthony — Minneapolis — Winona — Wabasha — Red 
Wing — Hutchinson — Ramapo Valley 151 



CHAPTEK XII. 

HEALTH RESORTS ON THE MEDITERRANEAN. 

The great inland sea — Peculiarities of temperature — Com- 
position, tides, etc. — Northern and southern shores — 
Prevalent winds in winter and summer — Eastern and 
western Riviera — Difference in climate between the two 
portions— Protection afforded by the mountains — The 
mistral and its effects on invalids— The sirocco, and its 
disease-laden breath — Prevalent diseases north and south 
— Dryness of the atmosphere — The Italian sun — Climate 
of Nice — Sudden thermal variations — Unhealthy condi- 
tions of old parts of the city — The time to visit Nice — 
Woollen clothing — Food and exercise — Monaco — Mentone 
■ — San Remo — Corsica, etc 164 



X CONTENTS. 

CHAPTEE XIII 

THE MEDITERRANEAN (CONTINUED.) 

Southern shores — Varieties of climate — Moisture in the at- 
mosphere — Misnamed health resorts — Malarial disorderes 
— Thermal variations— Sudden changes in temperature — 
The sirocco — Rain-fall — Location of Pisa — Not the place 
for invalids at any season of the year — Naples— Differ- 
ence in climate of east and west side — Sicily— Its physi- 
cal geography and climate — Principal towns — Products 
of the soil — Malaga — Algiers — Alicante 180 



CHAPTEE XIY. 

CLIMATES OF FLORENCE AND ROME. 

Florence in a hail-storm — Peculiarities of the prevalent 
winds — Sunshine — Sudden changes — Location of the 
city- -Malarial fever* — Enteritis — Mean temperature of 
winter and summer months — Climate not suited for con- 
sumptive invalids — Rome — Roman fever — Effects of 
sight-seeing — Mortality among Americans — Safest time 
of the year to reside in Rome ... 191 



CHAPTEE XV. 

THE ITALIAN LAKES. 

Lake scenery — Peculiarities of lakes on Italian side of the 
mountains — Variations of climate on opposite sides of 
lakes — Protection from storms by the mountains — Lake 
Como — Scenery — Health resorts — Bellagio and Lakes 
Maggiore, Lugano, Iseo, and Garda 201 



"WINTER HOMES 



FOE 



INVALIDS 



CHAPTEE I. 

" Universal Laws " which are not universal — Fallacies of a univer- 
sal system of treatment — Advantages of a change of climate 
and the diseases which are cured by it — Selection of location 
determined by peculiarities of the disease and temperament — 
Who should go and who should stay at home — Consumption, 
Asthma, Bronchitis, Kheumatism, Nervous Prostration, cli- 
mate in which they flourish and in which they are cured. 

There is a growing tendency in the modern mind 
to make laws as well as to break them. We like to 
manufacture rules for the mental, moral and physi- 
cal government of our neighbors. To be allowed 
to teach them how to eat, drink, sleep, and even how 
to die, is an admission of our individual superior- 
ity. And if our ingenuity is not equal to the task 
of developing new laws, we quietly resurrect laws 
from some mummified theories, change their appear- 



Z WINTER HOMES FOR INVALIDS. 

ance by a process of mental patchwork, and present 
them to those who need to be governed. Few of 
these so-called laws would bear the light of intelli- 
gent analysis, yet the masses accept them without 
inquiry. 

Every profession suffers from one-sided, crude 
deductions. In the medical world each year witnes- 
ses its prolific crop. New " cures " are advertised 
daily. The vegetable-cure, the flesh-cure, milk- 
cure, water-cure, an army of cures come in from 
every quarter. Each one has its earnest adherents, 
with doubtless some foundation for their faith. 
But they go too far in offering to cure every other 
sick person on the globe with their special remedies. 
We knoAv that a diet-vegetarian assists physical 
growth — that a certain amount of vegetable food is 
necessary to ward off disease ; but to breakfast, 
dine, and sup on vegetables is not conducive to, 
health or manly vigor. This method of preserving 
the health would indeed be a wearisome malady. 
The " milk-cure " has succeeded in many instances. 
Milk is excellent, nutritious and palatable ; but it does 
not follow that we are to convert our patients into 



UNIVERSAL LAWS WHICH ARE NOT UNIVERSAL. 6 

miniature walking dairies whenever their internal 
economy is out of order. There is solace to be had 
from the " grape cure," but grapes do not answer 
for the treatment of every disease. Because water 
is known to be beneficial in health and in disease, it- 
is regarded as a panacea for all the ills of flesh. 
Every patient is "packed," and soaked, and 
showered. Whether they burn with fever or 
shake with malarial chills, the drenching process 
is continued. Young and old, sleepless and 
drowsy, endure the same treatment, no matter what 
their special wants or idiosyncrasies may be. 

And, again, in the climatic treatment of disease 
we encounter more " universal rules." Because 
some consumptives improve in a warm climate, the 
great majority of sufferers from that disease are al- 
lured from comfortable homes to swelter in the 
tropics, and to endure the cold hospitality of stran- 
gers in a strange land. .Rheumatic patients are 
sent to mineral springs, even if the diurnal varia- 
tions of the temperature of the locality equal thirty 
or forty degrees. The climatic peculiarities are 
seldom considered. The composition of the springs 



4 WINTER HOMES FOR INVALIDS. 

alone receives proper attention. And so the same 
mistaken rules surround and seek to govern every 
special disease. Men and women are dosed and sent 
hither and thither, regardless of the distinctive fea- 
tures of each case. 

Now we must not be understood as casting a slur 
on the therapeutical use of any of the substances 
mentioned among the various " cures," or of abjur- 
ing the influence of a warm climate in the treat- 
ment of consumption, but we simply deprecate the 
tendency to make rules of treatment applicable to 
all diseases. 

It is a great mistake to draw the line for all man- 
kind to stand up to. The distinctive individuality 
of men will not allow such fixed, arbitrary pro- 
cedures. Men differ as much from each other in 
their constitutions, temperaments and surroundings — 
in their likes, dislikes and necessities — as they do in 
their forms or faces. No one can be a law unto his 
neighbor. Each man or woman must have the in- 
dividual separate attention which the special, case 
demands, before either a change of diet or of cli- 
mate or a drug is recommended. 



EFFECTS OF A CHANGE OF CLIMATE. 5 

In the treatment of diseases the value of a 
change of climate is well understood. Educated 
physicians of all classes agree that the majority of 
chronic debilitating disorders may be either relieved 
or cured by removal to a suitable climate. Drugs, 
however valuable they may be, are absolutely of less 
importance in the treatment of certain chronic dis- 
eases than the right climatic influences. Among the 
diseases which are particularly susceptible to a change 
of climate may be enumerated — consumption, 
chronic bronchitis, rheumatism, Bright's disease of 
the kidneys and nervous exhaustion. Many of these 
diseases which have resisted the most sensible medi- 
cation succumb to it in more genial climes. 

In order to understand the kind of climate best 
suited to a consumptive, it will be necessary to be- 
come acquainted with the history of the disease, the 
circumstances under which it flourishes, and those 
under which it is cured. The term consumption is 
remarkably appropriate. It is derived from a Greek 
word, <f>8ia, signifying to waste or consume. As a 
scourge of the human race, it is second only to war 
and alcohol. Among civilized people in temperate 



6 WINTER HOMES FOR INVALIDS. 

regions it is said to carry off one-tenth of the popu- 
lation. No country is entirely exempt from its rav- 
ages. In Iceland the disease is extremely rare, 
while in the West Indies it is of common occur- 
rence, and is attended by great mortality. These 
facts show that heat is not a preventive of the dis- 
ease, and that cold does not necessarily produce it. 
A damp atmosphere, where the temperature is vari- 
able, or a climate so excessively warm as to preclude 
open-air exercise, poorly ventilated, crowded tene- 
ments shut out from the bright sunshine, are all pro- 
lific causes of consumption. The disease constantly 
develops where these conditions exist. Certain oc- 
cupations also are characterized by a great mortality 
from consumption. Machine-shops, and manufacto- 
ries where cutlery is made, increase the length of the 
death-roll. The minute particles of steel filling the 
air are constantly inhaled. When they reach the 
air-cells they produce irritation which eventually ter- 
minates in some form of bronchial or pneumonic in- 
flammation. The occupation of mining has a detri- 
mental effect on the health. The darkness, the foul 
air, and the inhalation of particles of coal combine in 



CAUSES OF CONSUMPTION. 7 

developing tubercular disease. One half of the per- 
sons engaged in the mines of Cornwall die from con- 
sumption. Magendie proved conclusively that the ab- 
sence of sunlight was a strong predisposing cause of 
the disease. Extensive tubercular deposits- were dis- 
tinguishable in the lungs of some rabbits which he 
had confined for several months in a dark cellar. 

The people who suffer most from the ravages of 
consumption are those living in the temperate zone, 
viz., in England, Holland, parts of Germany, 
France and America. It deserts the life-giving for- 
ests and green fields for the crowded dwelling-places 
of man. Twentj^-five per cent, more die from the 
disease in town than in the country. 

Medicines are of little use in curing consumption. 
Tonics and cod-liver oil occasionally assist the 
natural stamina of a patient to overcome the disease ; 
but they seldom accomplish more than to diminish 
the rapidity of its progress. The best preventive of 
consumption, and the most conducive to its cure, are 
change of habit and of residence, where the principal 
part of the day can be spent in the open air, under a 
bright, sunlit sky. 



8 WINTER HOMES FOE INVALIDS. 

Though a dry, warm atmosphere is suitable for 
many consumptives, there are some who thrive in a 
moist climate, or in a steadily cold one — those who 
like the cold temperature usually suffer much from 
shortness of breath. They are oppressed and 
smothered by the hot air of tropical regions. Know- 
ing these diverse natural demands of consumptives, 
we can appreciate the necessity of a rigid examina- 
tion of each patient. His habits, his surroundings, 
his tastes, and the special peculiarities of his disease 
should be carefully studied. He should be ques- 
tioned as to the kind of weather which is most agree- 
able to him, whether dry or moist, cold or hot, and 
also whether the air of the mountains or the air of 
the sea-shore is the most agreeable. Then, if the con- 
clusion from the examination is that a dry and warm 
climate is best suited for the patient, he may choose 
between Santa Barbara, San Jose, San Diego, and 
other places in California ; Aiken, S. C. ; Santa 
Cruz, in the West Indies, and Honolulu ; or Men- 
tone, and San Eemo in Europe. If a warm climate 
with more moisture in the air is desired, there is 
Magnolia and St. Augustine in Florida, Bermuda, 



WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU GET THERE. 9 

aod Bahama Islands; St. Thomas, and sea-port towns 
of Cuba, or Corsica and Palermo in Sicily. A very 
dry and cool climate can be found in Colorado. 
Those who prefer a climate which is very cold — but, 
at the same time, without sudden or dangerous 
changes — will be suited in some parts of Minnesota, 
in the Adironclacks, and in the Ramapo Valley, in 
New York State. These places are the principal 
winter resorts ; but there are some others held in 
esteem, which are described in subsequent chapters. 

The patient should take clothing suitable for all 
changes of weather. Warm climates are sometimes 
liable to sudden thermal variations, which are in- 
jurious to those who are unprepared for them. Cod- 
liver oil and tonics must be continued. The patient's 
diet should be regulated according to the special de- 
mands of his appetite. The same diet will not suf- 
fice for all. Let the patient have vegetables, rare 
meat, or meat well done, milk or grapes, or in fact 
any nutritious article of diet which he wishes. 

Exercise in the open air is essential. Walking and 
riding in moderation, at regular periods, stimulates 
the circulation, and gives renewed vitality. To bathe 



10 WINTER HOMES FOE INVALIDS. 

every morning with cold water is excellent. Chilly 
sensations after the bath may be prevented by rub- 
bing the skin briskly with coarse towels. This stim- 
ulates the circulation of blood in the skin and 
prevents the chest from taking cold. If the patient 
is far advanced in the disease, and more than ordi- 
narily sensitive to changes of temperature, portions 
of the body may be successively washed and dried — 
first, the face and neck, then each arm, then the 
chest and lower extremities. Bathing should never 
be omitted, even if it has to be done with a moist 
sponge under the bed-clothes. The skin is one of 
the eliminating organs of the body, and its share of 
the decaying detritus must be thrown off — otherwise, 
it will add to the morbific elements, the result of 
the lung disease circulating in the body. In addition 
to the bathing, friction of the surface with the hand, 
or "kneading" the muscles, is a remedial agent of 
no little value, in consumption, and in fact in all 
cases where the circulation is deficient. In the 
selection of rooms those which have a southern ex- 
posure should be given the preference. Plenty of 
sunlight in a room is almost as necessary as pure air. 



BRONCHITIS AND RHEUMATISM. 11 

The sunny side of the house is generally five or six 
degrees warmer than the north side, and hence is the 
best for invalids in the winter season. 

Asthma arises from a spasmodic contraction ot the 
muscular fibres of the small bronchial tubes. It 
occurs regularly at certain seasons of the year. A 
disordered stomach, heart disease, or bronchial in- 
flammation, often excite an attack. Its principal 
cause, however, is the inhalation of various sub- 
stances floating in the air. Many are affected during 
the haying season — hence, that form is known as 
" Hay Asthma." The odor of flowers, of goats, 
pigs, cats, of brimstone, smoke and hartshorn have 
been known to excite it. The attack is usually 
severe when easterly winds prevail. 

There is no one climate that can be recommended 
for the cure of all cases of asthma. Hot and cold, 
wet and dry, clear and cloudy atmospheres have each 
and all proved serviceable. Each asthmatic must 
select his or her particular spot. This can be accom- 
plished only by experiment. Professor Henry B. 
Sands, of this city, finds a haven in Halifax, N. S. 
Henry Ward Beecher seeks his cure in the air of the 



12 WINTER HOMES FOE INVALIDS. 

White Mountains. Others find out the most crowded 



dingy and smoky part of the city, and there succeed 
in warding off the attack. 

Chronic bronchitis is an inflammation of the mu- 
cous membrane lining the bronchial tubes. It is 
characterized by coughing, and a muco-purulent ex- 
pectoration. It is often associated with consumption 
and asthma. To perfect a~cure it is necessary in 
nearly all cases to remove the patient to a suitable 
climate. Climates which suit consumptives are also 
the best for persons suffering from bronchitis. The 
same care is likewise necessary in selecting a resi- 
dence favorable to the idiosyncrasies of the patient. 
The family physician should decide in all cases as 
to the fitness of the selection. In conjunction with 
a suitable climate, the use of mineral water, contain- 
ing salts of potassium and sodium, will materially 
assist the cure. 

Chronic rheumatism is one of the most intractable 
diseases with which physicians have to deal. Rheu- 
matism flourishes in damp, cold regions, and where 
there are sudden and extreme variations of temper- 
ature. Every change in the atmosphere, from dry 



13 

to wet, from heat to cold, produces a fresh attack. 
Indeed, many rheumatic patients are able to foretell 
a storm or other unfavorable change in the weather 
by the unpleasant sensations in their limbs. The 
expression, " I feel it in my bones," is familiar to 
every physician. 

A change of residence to a warm, dry climate, 
where the diurnal variations are not very great, 
will assist in curing the disease. And in making a 
change it is advantageous to choose a residence 
near mineral springs containing salts of sodium, 
potassium, and sulphur. Certain parts of California 
have a good reputation for the relief their climate 
gives to rheumatic patients. In Florida, South 
Carolina, Georgia, Santa Cruz, and in Colorado 
there are also excellent resorts. 

A few years ago the disease of the kidneys, to 
which John Bright gave his name, was scarcely 
known. Now it is one of the most frequent ail- 
ments on the long list of disorders to which mankind 
is subject. It is well understood that the disease is 
on the increase. Where one case occurred ten 
years ago, there are now twenty cases. Our more 



14 WINTER HOMES FOR INVALIDS. 

accurate classification, arising from greater facilities 
in the investigation of morbid changes, will account 
for some of the increase ; but nevertheless there is a 
real positive accession to the list of sufferers from 
kidney affections. 

Bright's disease is not peculiar to any station of 
life. Rich or poor, old or young, are alike the sub- 
jects of its ravages. Anything which affects the 
secretory function of the skin — which checks the 
perspiration — will throw a greater amount of work 
on the kidneys, congesting them, and in time, if the 
exciting cause continue, will give rise to a degenera- 
tion of the substance of the organ. Exposure to 
sudden and marked changes of temperature is liable 
to check the secretion of the skin. Sometimes the 
breathing apparatus is affected by the internal con- 
gestion : then catarrhal disorders occur ; at other 
times, when the intestines are the seat of the conges- 
tion, diarrhoea results, but in many cases the kidneys 
take the largest share in the morbid changes. 

The use, as well as the abuse of alcoholic liquors 
produces " Bright's disease." The alcohol, in what- 
ever form it is imbibed, is carried off principally by 



TREATMENT OF NERVOUS EXHAUSTION. 15 

the kidneys, and, in its passage through them, stimu- 
lates them to increased action. They become con- 
gested, and remain so as long as the use of the 
poison is continued. In the course of time these 
repeated congestions produce the disease as in the 
previous instance. In young children, chronic 
Bright's disease is engrafted on an acute inflammation 
of the kidneys, but this class of cases is fewer than 
any other. 

Medicinal agents have very little effect in curing 
the affection when the exposure to cold and other 
exciting causes is continued. Patients with this 
disease specially need a w T arm climate where the 
thermal variations are not great. If the patient is 
so situated that he can use mineral-spring waters, 
they will be found of benefit. We may mention 'as 
suitable sanatoriums, Santa Barbara and San IJiego, 
in California ; St. Thomas, Curacoa, in the West 
India Islands ; and Magnolia, St. Augustine, on 
Tampa Bay, in Florida. The West India Islands, 
for Bright's disease, have a more favorable reputa- 
tion than other health resorts. 

Nervous exhaustion, another name for over-work, 



16 WINTER HOMES FOE INVALIDS. 

is generally the result of close abnormal mental 
application either in literary or business pursuits. 
It is characterized by great depression, in ability to 
perform the ordinary duties of life without misap- 
prehension, and tremulousness of the voluntary 
muscular system. With these, of course, there are 
various functional disorders — such as dyspepsia, 
weak sight, neuralgic pains, etc., and it is these 
which generally bring the patient first under the 
notice of the physician. It is safe to say that one- 
half of the business and literary men of New York 
suffer some time during the year from nervous ex- 
haustion. Many fill premature graves or add to the 
inmates of lunatic asylums, by their intense eager- 
ness to work and get a step ahead of their neighbors. 
In this affection medicines alone are of little use. 
Tonics are sometimes of temporary benefit. The 
only true course to pursue is to stop work imme- 
diately, on the occurrence of the first symptom, and 
reside in a bracing atmosphere, away from all tempta- 
tion to continue the labor. The mind as well as the 
body must have rest. He must be removed from 
all worry and business entanglements. The only 



WHERE TO GO TO. 17 

way to get out of the rut of care and anxiety is to 
run away from it and stay away until there is a 
complete revolution in thoughts and feelings, and a 
normal performance of all the functions of animal 
life. To this class of patients a cool, bracing atmos- 
phere is better than a warm one, although some 
thrive in parts of Florida and California. Colorado 
possesses all the attributes of air and scenery 
necessary to revivify and set rushing anew the 
sluggish and dammed-up streams of vitality. Min- 
nesota is also a good place to reside in, winter or 
summer. The mountains of North Carolina or 
Western Virginia may also be found suitable to the 
wants of the patient. Whichever place is selected, 
the patient should exercise daily in the open air, 
bathe in cold water, if he can do so without being 
chilled, and if necessary continue the use of tonic 
medicine until a cure is completed. 



18 WINTER HOMES FOE INVALIDS. 



CHAPTEE II. 

CALIFORNIA. 

Peculiarities of soil and climate — "Wet and dry seasons — Direc- 
tion of mountain ranges — Changes in the climate, referable 
to elevation and exposure to different winds — Months of 
greatest mortality — Malarial diseases — Rain-fall— Range of 
temperature in winter and summer — Selection of a suitable 
residence for consumptives — Where to go, how to go, and 
what to do when you get there — Santa Barbara — Freedom 
from malarial and contagious diseases — Effects of odor of 
petroleum — San Diego, San Bernardino, San Jose, Calis- 
toga, Monterey, San Rafael, and their mineral springs. 

California has been an object of interest to the 
civilized world since the time when it was desig- 
nated by English geographers as " Drake's land back 
of Canada," Its luxuriant groves of tropical fruit- 
trees and spices first interested its discoverers. 
Later, its glittering treasures of precious metals, hid- 
den in the rock, attracted a tide of enterprising and 
greedy adventurers. Now it is looming up into 
prominence as a harbor of refuge for broken-down 
men and women ; for those who have had a surfeit 



PECULIARITIES OF SOIL AND CLIMATE. 19 

of medicine, and who seek in its pure atmosphere the 
restoration of their shattered powers. 

In California, Nature, "the living, visible gar- 
ment of God," is seen in " ever- varying brilliancy 
and grandeur." Its towering mountains, capped 
with a glittering mantle of snow — its fertile valleys, 
winding silvery streams — its majestic groves of oak 
and pine, afford many a picture of unsurpassed love- 
liness, which the eye feasts on with delight. In no 
other part of the globe is there such a variety of 
soil and climate. It is this variety which has at- 
tracted so many heterogeneous human elements to its 
hospitable shores. Within a day's ride, the traveller 
may experience the rigors of the Arctic regions, the 
warmth of the tropics, or the moisture and variable- 
ness of New York. He can travel over deserts glis- 
tening with alkali, destitute of a single leaf, or 
through a luxuriant Eden of fruits and flowers. In 
many places, the orange and almond grow up with 
the cherry, plum, and other northern fruit ; and 
flowers bloom every month in the year. 

The upper extremity of California is situated at 
forty-two degrees ; its southern extremity lies about 



20 WINTER HOMES FOR INVALIDS. 

twenty-two degrees North latitude. Oregon bounds 
it on the north ; Nevada and the Gulf of California 
on the east; and the Pacific Ocean on the west. 
Two extensive mountain ranges, the Coast Moun- 
tains and the Sierra Nevada, run in a south-easterly 
direction through nearly its whole length. Between 
the two are situated the Sacramento and San 
Joaquin valleys. The principal resorts of health- 
seekers are located in Southern California. They 
extend from point Concepcion (where the Pacific 
coast makes a sudden turn in an easterly direction) 
down as far as San Francisco. 

It is not easy to determine the causes which de- 
velop the peculiarities of the climate of California. 
The differences are so great within the distance of a 
few miles that neither elevation, latitude, nor any- 
thing else will explain them. 

For instance, on the eastern side of the upper 
portion of the Coast Mountains, extreme cold and 
rain alternate, almost daily, with warm dry weather, 
while below Point Concepcion, on the ocean shore, 
the diurnal changes are unimportant and the season 
is constantly summer-like and equal. It has been 



PECULIARITIES OF CLIMATE. 21 

suggested that the coldness of the upper part is oc- 
casioned by a deep-sea current coming down from 
the north which diminishes the temperature of the 
atmosphere as it nears the coast, producing cold 
winds which lower the temperature in the otherwise 
warm villages beyond the mountains. The eastward 
carve of the coast at the point previously mentioned 
prevents the effects of this Polar current from being 
felt below. At San Francisco the sudden changes 
produced by this current are very noticeable. 
During the midsummer months in that city the 
mornings are often chilly enough to make heavy 
coats and underclothing desirable, while at noon 
the thermometer may stand at eighty. These 
marked changes occur oftener in the summer. In 
winter the weather along the coast is made milder 
by the warm current which flows across from the 
China Sea. Another instance of the remarkable 
variability of climate is found by comparing Mon- 
terey and San Francisco. They are located within 
seventy-eight miles of each other. During a period 
of six years the mean temperature of the hottest day 
at Monterey was fifty-nine degrees F., the coldest 



22 WINTER HOMES FOE INVALIDS. 

mean day fifty deg. making a range of nine degrees 
only. The average fall of rain and snow amounted 
to a fraction over twelve inches. In San Francisco 
during the same period the hottest mean day was 
seventy-eight degrees ; the coldest mean day, thirty- 
nine, and the rain and snow-fall about twenty-four 
inches. 

The seasons of California are two, viz,, the wet 
and dry season. The former commences in Novem- 
ber and ends in March or April. It is not, as its 
name would imply, a season of continual rain, but 
the rain seldom falls except in the winter months ; 
and even the wet season is full of summer sunshine. 

The remarkable equability of temperature, and 
the bracing atmosphere of many portions of Califor- 
nia, make it the centre of attraction for consumptives 
and those suffering from other debilitating diseases. 
Medical scientists who have become acquainted with 
its sanitary value through personal experience, agree 
in ranking it with, if not above, most health resorts 
in Europe or America. For consumption especially, 
the climate of Southern California is admirably 
adapted. Remarkable cures, even in the last stages 



SANTA BARBARA. 23 

of the disease, are frequently recorded. There can 
be found the necessary warmth, combined with a 
purity of atmosphere which makes an out-of-door 
life perfectly easy and comfortable, with no changes 
to affect or frighten the sensitive. 

Patients, however, must not be sent there indis- 
criminately. Only those able to stand the fatiguing 
journey should attempt it. To send invalids to die 
in a strange land is cruel, and, as we cannot too often 
reiterate, it is a most important point to ascertain 
which place is best suited to the necessities of the 
patient. The climate differs so much that the great- 
est care should be exercised in the selection of a res- 
idence for the patient — his life may depend on this. 
Among the places which have an excellent reputa- 
tion for the cure of consumptives, Santa Barbara 
stands at the head. 

The county of Santa Barbara occupies a narrow 
strip of land on the Pacific coast, extending from 
Point Concepcion to San Buenaventura. It runs from 
east to west and has a southern exposure. On the 
north it is protected from the cold, rain, and winds 
of the Pacific by the Coast Mountains. On the 



2i WINTER' HOMES FOR INVALIDS. 

south it is protected from the sea-fogs by the lovely 
islands lying in front of it. The town of Santa Bar- 
bara is situated in a picturesque valley midway 
between the two points previously mentioned. It 
is a town of three or four thousand inhabitants, 
about a fourth of which are invalids. A long, 
hard, sandy beach, two or three miles in length, 
affords excellent facilities for sea-bathing or horse- 
back exercise, 

Four miles from the town are the hot sulphur 
springs. Some of these contain sulphur and sulphu- 
retted hydrogen ; others contain alumina, potash, and 
iron. They are used internally and externally. A 
large number of persons suffering from rheumatism 
and various cutaneous diseases visit these springs. 
Their efficacy is attested by Dr. Riggs of Santa Bar- 
bara, and other prominent physicians of the State. 
Sulphur-spring water should not be used without 
the advice of a competent physician. 

Santa Barbara is a desirable location for invalids. 
Its climate is unequalled, dry and mild the year 
round, and free from sudden changes of temperature. 
In summer the average temperature is below seventy 



FREEDOM FROM CONTAGIOUS DISEASES. 25 

degrees, rarely rising above eighty, while in winter 
the average is fifty-three degrees. The coldest day 
during a period of nine years was forty-two degrees. 
The rain-fall in a year varies from twelve to fifteen 
inches. 

Contagious diseases, such as small-pox, scarlet 
fever and diphtheria, are never found in Santa Bar- 
bara unless brought from a neighboring town. Even 
then they do not spread. Epidemics which have 
decimated villages thirty or forty miles distant have 
left this town untouched. Malarial fevers are also 
unknown. Many cases of chronic intermittent sent 
here are cured without the aid of quinine or its kin- 
dred antiperiodics. This exceptional immunity 
from miasmatic and contagious diseases is supposed 
by Dr. Brinckerhoff to arise from the admixture of 
petroleum with the naturally pure air of the coast. 
A short distance from the coast there is an immense 
petroleum sea-well constantly casting up the crude 
oil to the surface of the water and covering it for 
miles. The air necessarily becomes impregnated 
with it. This theory is plausible, but should not be 

accepted without further investigation. 
2 



26 WINTER HOMES FOE INVALIDS. 

Consumptives have found in Santa Barbara the 
health and strength which other resorts failed to 
give them. In determining on a residence, prefer- 
ence should be given to private houses in the sur- 
rounding country rather than to the hotels of the 
town. The latter are apt to be crowded with inva- 
lids, and the associations to a home-sick stranger are 
not pleasant. Walking and riding in the open air 
and bathing, are excellent as restoratives, but the 
patient is apt to overdo them from the renewed 
vitality and vigor which he feels on his first arrival. 
Therefore, these good things must be moderately 
indulged in. The patient should walk every morn- 
ing after breakfast, and while feasting his eyes on 
the gladness and beauty snrrounding him, lie can 
comfort his lungs with the pure bracing air, un- 
adulterated with smoke, dust, or deleterious gases. 
After breakfast is the best time for exercise. The 
weakened frame requires the stimulus of a good 
meal. In walking, the chest should occasionally be 
expanded to its fullest extent — slowly, at the same 
time, the arms should be raised from the sides until 
the} T meet above the head, then as slowly lowered 



SAN DIEGO. 27 

until the air is expelled. This practice insures in a 
short time greater capacity, more breathing power, 
and consequently less danger from tubercular de- 
posit. Persons, however, who are subject to large 
hemorrhages should not indulge in this expansive 
exercise. After a few weeks' residence they may 
gradually join in the ways of life of those who have 
made the county their home. If the patient has 
been taking tonics, cod-liver oil or other medicines 
suited to the particular complaint, they should not 
be discontinued. Perhaps in all cases it is well to 
consult the best resident physician of the town. 

Since 1562, when Yiciano planted the Spanish 
flag in the harbor of San Diego, that place has been 
noted for its mild, salubrious climate. The town of 
San Diego lies in a capacious bay on the Pacific 
coast, five hundred miles south of San Francisco. 
Being one hundred and fifty miles further south 
than Santa Barbara, it is somewhat warmer. It is 
not sheltered like the latter, and- is consequently 
liable to sudden changes. The annual rain-fall in 
San Diego is ten inches. The hottest mean day in a 
period of six years was found to be seventy-five, 



28 WINTER J10MES FOR INVALIDS. 

and the coldest mean day forty-two degrees F. The 
days are warmer and the nights colder than in 
some towns further north. These peculiarities, how- 
ever, are not incompatible with a healthful climate. 
The annual mortality is 12.20 to the thousand in- 
habitants, an extremely small death rate. 

Consumptives and asthmatics are the persons 
most benefited by a residence in San Diego. There 
is considerable malaria in different parts of the 
county. Rheumatism is a prevalent disease during 
the winter months. Persons suffering from rheu- 
matic affections or malaria should avoid it. Invalids 
should select a residence to the west of the town as 
near the mountain-slopes as is compatible with their 
comfort. They must avoid the night air as much 
as possible, on account of the marked difference 
in temperature between the da}' and evening. 
Flannel underclothing is indispensable, and extra 
coverings are needed at sundown. Those suffering 
with chronic inflammations of the throat should 
not reside permanently in San Diego. They may, 
however, give it a trial in December and Janu- 
ary, and if but little improvement is found, Santa 



SAN KAFAEL — SAN" BEKNAEDINO. 29 

Barbara may be visited. Fifty miles from San 
Diego there are hot sulphur springs of considerable 
value. 

There is a lovely town fourteen miles from San 
Francisco, called San Rafael, which is a fashionable 
resort in winter and summer. It is about two 
miles from the western shore of San Pablo bay. 
The mountains protect it on the west and north, and 
keep it from the sudden thermal changes which 
characterize the climate of San Francisco. The air 
of San Rafael is dry, pure and "bracing. It is rarely 
cold enough in winter to prevent invalids from en- 
joying the open air every day. The town is reached 
by steamer from San Francisco. 

San Bernardino is not so frequently resorted to 
as San Diego or Santa Barbara. Its reputation, 
however, as a health resort is not inferior to the 
others. The town is situated in a fertile plain, 
with mountains to the north, west, and east. It 
is much farther inland than the town previously 
mentioned, being seventy-five miles from the sea. 
The air is exceedingly dry and bracing, and very 
little rain falls during the year. Malaria is almost 



30 WINTER HOMES FOE INVALIDS. 

unknown except in the mining districts. A 
short distance from the village, situated on higher 
ground near the mountains, is the site of the old 
mission of San Bernardino, where invalids are be- 
ginning to resort in considerable numbers. Many 
who have visited Santa Barbara, San Diego, and 
other places along the route, without relief, have 
been completely restored to health by the climate of 
San Bernardino. The same general care and re- 
striction in diet are to be observed here as in other 
places. There is, however, not so much necessity 
for avoiding the night air as in San Diego. The 
hot springs are located four miles from the town, 
near Mount San Bernardino. Some of them con- 
sist of pure water ; others contain lime, soda, alumina, 
and a trace of iron. The principal constituent, how- 
ever, is lime. The therapeutical virtues of these 
springs have not been sufficiently tested to enable us 
to give them a special recommendation. Numbers 
visit them daily and seem to derive benefit from 
their use. 

Santa Clara valley is another of the attractions of 
Southern California. Scattered up and down its 



SAN JOSE — CALISTOGA. 31 

fertile plains are quiet, lovely nooks, where the 
sick and weary traveller can find rest and com- 
fort — where he can breathe an atmosphere as 
pure and bracing and health-giving as any in the 
State. 

The principal resort of invalids in this valley is 
San Jose, a small town fifty miles from San Fran- 
cisco. Although not so warm as Santa Barbara or 
San Diego, it is well situated for consumptives, 
many of whom recuperate in a short time. As in 
other places, preference should be given to cpiiet 
farm-houses, where plenty of fresh milk, cream, and 
butter can be had. But if the milk causes a head- 
ache, or other uncomfortable symptoms, it is not well 
to ascribe it to the climate. 

The Congress Mineral Springs are located about 
thirteen miles from San Jose. They contain carbo- 
nates of socla, iron, lime, chloride of sodium, sul- 
phate of soda, silicate of alumina, and magnesia. 
The waters are good for rheumatic affections. 

Calistoga, in Napa county, has been celebrated 
for some years for the number and variety of its 
mineral springs. It is a common resort for sufferers 



32 WINTEE H01LES FOE INVALIDS. 

from rheumatism, gout, and cutaneous diseases. The 
springs are scattered OTer a large extent of country, 
and are nearly all hot. Their most important con- 
stituent is sulphur, free and in various combinations. 
A considerable number contain iron and magnesia. 
At the springs large baths are constructed for the 
convenience of invalids who may choose the special 
water ordered by their physician. 

Sonoma County. — The Geyser springs in this 
county are more valuable than the others in a thera- 
peutical and scientific point of view. To the curious 
and learned, thev afford an exceedingly interesting 
study. They bubble up through a volcanic paste 
or force themselves through lava fissures in the 
rocks through the whole length of the Geyser canon. 
Mineral springs of almost inconceivable variety in 
their composition lie side by side. Among the prin- 
cipal are the Boiling Alum and Sulphur Springs, 
Black Sulphur, "White Sulphur, Steamboat Geyser, 
and Epsom Salt Spring, Sulphur and Iron, and 
"Eye-Water" Spring, Iron and Soda Spring, and 
an acid spring. Many persons frequent the baths, 
especially in the summer months. The diseases 



VISALTA MONTEREY PASO-EOBLES. 3 3 

which are benefited by a regular course of the 
waters are rheumatism, gout, and cutaneous affec- 
tions. Persons suffering from pulmonary com- 
plaints should not reside in the neighborhood. 

Visalia is situated in the San Joaquin Valley. It 
is highly spoken of as a resort for invalids, espe- 
cially for those who prefer dry inland air. It has 
an excellent hotel, and private boarding-houses in 
which the sick traveller can find all that he needs 
in the way of food and attention. 

Monterey is about seventy-eight miles from San 
Francisco in a southerly direction. The climate is 
comparatively dry and equable. Consumptives who 
feel invigorated by the sea air may reside here for a 
few months with benefit. A stage runs regularly 
from San Jose to this place. 

The Paso-Robles mineral springs are located in 
San Luis Obispo county, two hundred miles south 
of San Francisco. The waters are said to be the 
most valuable in the State for rheumatic and gouty 
affections, and also for diseases of the skin. The 
analysis shows that they contain carbonic acid and 

sulphuretted hydrogen, soda, magnesia, potassa, 

2* 



34: WINTER HOMES FOR INVALIDS. 

iron, bromine, iodine, alumina, silica, and sulphuric 
acid. Baths are always ready for patients. The 
springs are reached by steamer from San Francisco 
to San Luis Obispo. Here a good stage ride of 
twenty-seven miles from the latter place leaves the 
traveller at the springs. 

We will now take it for granted that the physi- 
cian has given the patient a thorough examination, 
and has satisfied himself as to the peculiarities of 
the disease and the climate best suited to the special 
wants of the case ; that he has also become ac- 
quainted with the varied features of the health 
resorts herein spoken of, and that the patient is 
ready to start. 

California can be reached in two ways, viz. : by 
the steamers of the Pacific Mail Company, to 
Aspinwall, thence across the isthmus, by rail, to 
Panama, at which place, the steamers of the same 
company take the traveller to San Francisco; or 
he can across the continent, by the various lines 
of railroad. The latter is the quickest, but may 
be tiresome to the invalid who objects to the con- 
stant tremor of the cars, or who prefers the sea 



HOW TO GET THERE. 35 

voyage. The journey to San Francisco by rail 
may be performed in seven days. Very few in- 
valids, however, can bear such constant travelling 
by rail — it will therefore be well to divide the 
journey into four parts, staying over a day at each 
resting-place. The first part of the journey should 
terminate at Chicago, a ride of nine hundred and 
sixty miles, occupying from thirty-four to thirty- 
six hours. The second stage brings the traveller to 
Omaha, five hundred and sixty miles from Chicago. 
A ride of five hundred and seventy-three miles 
brings the traveller to Sarana, Wyoming terri- 
tory, a lovely place to rest over twenty-four hours. 
The next ride extends to San Francisco, where 
the traveller may spend a day very profitably 
before proceeding on his journey to the health 
resort. 

There are three principal routes from New York 
to Chicago, viz. : by the New York Central and 
Hudson River Railway and Great Western and 
Michigan Central Railway ; or Erie and Lake 
Shore, and Michigan Southern Railway, or by the 
Allentown line, which includes the New Jersey 



86 WINTER HOMES FOR INVALIDS. 

Central, Lebanon Valley and Pennsylvania Central, 
and Pittsburg, Fort Wayne and Chicago railways. 
A few hours railroad ride may be saved by taking 
the Hudson River day or night boat to Albany ; 
thence to Chicago, by the New York Central. A 
sleeping-car must be had for an invalid on each 
road travelled. From Chicago to Omaha there is 
also a choice of three routes, viz. : on the Chicago 
and North- western, Chicago and Pock Island, Chi- 
cago, Burlington and Quincy, and Burlington and 
Missouri Piver railways. The time occupied in 
going from Chicago to Omaha is about twenty-four 
hours. 

From Omaha to San Francisco is a steady ride of 
four days and nine hours over the Union Pacific, 
Central Pacific, and Western Pacific railways. At 
San Francisco the traveller will find conveyances to 
all parts of the State. San Jose and other parts of 
the Santa Clara Valley are reached by the San Jose 
Railway from the corner of Market street. Stages 
from San Jose run to the New Almaden mines and 
places of interest in the valley. From San Jose 
the cars take the traveller to Gilroy, thence a 



HOW TO GET THEKE. 37 

comfortable stage runs to Santa Barbara, touch- 
ing on the way the Paso-Itobles hot springs, San 
Luis Obispo, etc. 

The Congress Springs are reached by railway 
from San Francisco to Santa Clara, thence by stage 
eleven miles to the springs. If the traveller desires 
to visit Monterey he can go by water from San 
Francisco, or by stage through a beautiful country 
from San Jose. 

The trip to San Diego may be made by water from 
San Francisco, or by rail to San Jose, and thence by 
stage via Los Angeles. The stage ride from Los 
Angeles occupies two days, including an interval of 
one night's rest at San Juan Capistrano. 

The Geyser Springs, one hundred miles from San 
Francisco, are reached by steamers for the latter 
place to Donahue, thence by rail to Healdsburg and 
stage or horseback to Biggs and the Geysers. 

San Bernardino is also reached by stage from Los 
Angeles. 



WINTER HOMES FOR INVALIDS. 



CHAPTEE III. 



FACTS ABOUT FLORIDA. 



Diseases peculiar to the climate — Prevalence of malaria in marshy 
districts — Comparative frequency of malarial diseases in other 
parts of the Union — Erroneous statements — Climate of East- 
em and Western coasts — Wet and dry seasons — Thermal varia- 
tions — Hygrometric records — The best locations for patients 
with consumption and B right's disease of the kidneys — Perils 
of badly ventilated hotels — Effects of bad food and over-ex- 
ertion — Selection of a suitable residence — Mineral Springs — 
Magnolia — Green Cove — St. Augustine — Jacksonville — Enter- 
prise — Pilatka — Tampa. 

The climate of our American Italy has been the 
subject of considerable misrepresentation. It has 
been alternately praised and slandered — praised for 
its mildness and equability, blamed for its swamps 
and malaria. Only within the past year or two has 
its paramount claims as a pure, balmy, health-giving 
climate been fully established. Statistics prepared 
by careful and disinterested observers have decided 
the truth of some statements and the exaggerations 
of others. It is often said, for instance, that malarial 
fevers prevail to a greater extent in Florida than in 



MORTALITY FROM MALARIAL DISEASES. 33 

other States, and that the mortality from these fevers 
is excessive, because the air is constantly loaded 
with mephitic vapors. But the truth is, that inter- 
mittent and remittent fevers in Florida are of a 
milder type, run their course quicker, and are at- 
tended by less mortality than in any other State in 
the Union. These facts were ascertained by Surgeon- 
Gen. Lawson, who found that in the northern section 
of this country one in every fifty-four cases of remit- 
tent fever proved fatal, in the central sections one in 
thirty-eight, in Texas one in seventy-five, and in Flor- 
ida only one in two hundred and eighty-seven. It is 
true there are swamps and " hummocks," where lux- 
uriant vegetation under a hot sun develop) miasmatic 
poisons. These unhealthy spots, however, are only 
found in great number in the southern portions of the 
State near the " Everglades." In the north they are 
few and far between. The greater part of the soil is 
sandv and covered by immense groves of long and 
short-leaved pines. These forests constantly exhale a 
delicious terebinthine vapor which adds to the health- 
giving properties of the atmosphere. The "hum- 
mocks " are patches of land made up of clay and 



4:0 WINTER HOMES FOR INVALIDS. 

sand and covered by an exceedingly rich and rank 
vegetation. The laurel, oak and magnolia flourish in 
these spots, which are always fertile and productive. 
The clayey nature of the- hummock land prevents 
the water from passing off, and the drainage con- 
sequently is imperfect. Hence the prevalence of 
malaria in their neighborhood. 

In this connection it may be remarked that some 
European authorities give miasm a sort of antidotal 
power over consumption, and they go so far as to say 
that no cases are recorded of deaths from consump- 
tion among persons who have malarial diseases. 
Further investigations, however, are needed to give 
this hypothesis a substantial foundation. 

The deaths from consumption in Florida average 
one in fourteen hundred and fifty-seven, while in 
Massachusetts the mortality reaches as high as one 
in two hundred and fifty-four. This of course only 
includes the resident population. The mortality 
among visitors suffering from consumption is not 
very large, but would be still less if physicians, with 
little knowledge and less conscience, would abstain 
from sending their patients there in the last stages 



INVALIDS WHO SHOULD STAY AT HOME. 41 

of the disease, when every earthly hope of their re- 
covery had gone. Many unfortunates are sent every 
year to Florida with life ebbing out rapidly, and by 
men who cannot possibly have an intelligent hoj^e of 
their recovery. Needing nothing but the soothing at- 
tentions of the home circle, of sympathizing friends 
to comfort them as they pass down the dark valley, 
they are torn away, sent on a wearisome journey 
to a strange land, among strangers to die. This 
course is so cruel and absurd, that it would almost 
seem needless to reiterate the advice previously 
given, that only those in the incipient stages of 
consumption should venture from a good home 
for the uncertainties of recovery in a distant 
country. 

Florida, with the exception of a hilly portion of 
the State near the Georgian boundary, is generally 
flat ; its highest elevation is not more than three 
hundred feet above the sea-level. In this respect 
it differs from the mountainous States we have 
already described. The State occupies the southern 
extremity of the Union, and is three hundred and 
eighty miles long, extending from twenty-live to 



42 WINTER HOMES FOR INVALIDS. 

thirty-five degrees North latitude. Although ten 
degrees nearer the equator than southern Italy, 
Florida is no warmer and has a far more equable 
and dry climate. From the geological structure 
it is evident that the State is comparatively of 
a recent formation. Through many ages the mi- 
nute industrious coral-insect was laying in the sea 
a foundation for the land of the future State to 
rest on. The lower part of the State, known as the 
Everglades, is still unfinished, and is not sufficiently 
reclaimed from the waters to make it habitable or 
tillable. In time it will doubtless become a sub- 
stantial dwelling-place. 

According to the official weather reports the hot- 
test clay in January is seventy-five degrees F. ; the 
coldest, thirty-one degrees F. In July of the same 
year the highest point reached by the thermom- 
eter was ninety-two degrees, the lowest seventy-two. 
Contrast this July weather of Florida with that of 
New York in the same month, and the difference 
will be found to be immensely in favor of the former 
State. The daily spasmodic jump of the mercury in 
New York stands out in strong contrast to the com- 



VARIATIONS OF TEMPERATURE. 43 

paratively steady, comfortably warm weather of the 
Southern States. 

The average mean temperature of Florida during 
the past year was seventy-three degrees, and between 
winter and summer heat there was but the small varia- 
tion of twenty-five degrees. The annual rain-fall is 
forty inches. The rainy season occurs during the sum- 
mer months. In California the so-called rainy season 
takes place in winter. The greatest amount of rain- 
fall is in August and the early part of September. In 
August of 1873 the rain-fall at Jacksonville amount- 
ed to seven inches. 

Frosts of sufficient severity to destroy the fruit 
crop occasionally occur. However, the frost is 
usually so slight as to be scarcely noticeable. The 
winters are thirty or forty degrees warmer than in 
New York, and the summer months of the latter 
place ten or fifteen degrees hotter than in Florida. 
From the latter part of October to the middle of 
April, and even later, the air is comfortably warm 
and subject to few unpleasant changes. Eastern and 
Western Florida both possess an agreeable climate; 
the eastern is, however, the more frequented portion. 



44 WINTER HOMES FOR INVALIDS. 

This is partly owing to the greater facilities for 
travelling and the better accommodations on the east- 
ern coast. The tropical atmosphere of the daylight 
hours is tempered by the Atlantic breezes. The 
nights are invariably cool. Taking it altogether, it 
is just such a climate as will suit the over- worked 
of our city folk who need to give their brains a 
blissful rest, and also for those in the early stages 
of consumption who feel better in a warm, moist 
atmosphere than in a cold one. Sufferers from 
Brioht's disease and rheumatism will also find a 
residence in the vicinity of some of the mineral 
springs and a moderate use of the waters of valu- 
able assistance to them in obtaining a fresh supply 
of health and vitality. 

Mrs. Abby H. Patton, the original " Abby Hutch- 
inson " of musical fame, says : " This pure balmy 
air gives one new life ; there is nothing like it for 
the blues, for aches and pains, and the coughs, 
resulting from Xew York's raw, wintry wretched- 
ness." Dr. Rogers, a prominent physician of Con- 
necticut, whose ill-health compelled him to give up 
active service in his profession, and who has resided 



MAGNOLIA. 45 

in Magnolia for several winters, says : " The climate 
is peculiarly adapted for persons suffering from 
bronchitis and consumption." Our own experience 
in this matter is corroborative of the doctor's. 
Several of our own patients, with incipient consump- 
tion, have been benefited by a winter residence 
in Florida; two have completely recovered. Yet, 
with all its advantages, it does not seem to possess 
so favorable a climate for the great majority of 
consumptives as certain parts of California. The 
objection to the latter place is the length of time it 
takes to get there. Only those in the possession of 
considerable vitality can risk the fatigue of the 
journey, while Florida can be reached by water in 
a short time and with little exertion. 

Among the many invalid resorts Magnolia offers 
somewhat better inducements for a winter residence 
than other parts. Magnolia is located in one of the 
healthiest districts in the State. It has a sandy soil, 
covered with beautiful groves of pine and orange- 
trees. There are no dangerous hummock lands near 
the hotels and cottages. The village is on the west 
bank of the St. John's river, a short distance from 



46 WINTER HOMES FOR INVALIDS. 

the celebrated Green Cove Springs. Oranges and 
other tropical fruits are plentiful. Careless strangers 
are prone to over-indulge in these luscious edibles until 
brought down with diarrhoea or other affections of 
the intestinal tract. A moderate indulgence does no 
harm. The winter months at Magnolia are remark- 
able for their mildness and freedom from sudden 
thermal variations. Rainy days are few. The days 
are always warm and the nights cool. There is a 
first- class hotel there, with several fine cottages in 
connection. Cottage-rooms are preferable to hotel- 
rooms, as the former are usually more comfortable 
and home-like, and the circulation of air is better. 

The invalid, on first arriving in Magnolia, must not 
indulge in too much active exercise. Getting over- 
heated in a warm climate before being acclimated is 
apt to be followed by intestinal inflammations. Row- 
ing, horseback exercise, and walking are all good and 
conducive to health, when taken in moderation — in- 
jurious otherwise. If the patient is equal to it, a 
walk or horseback ride to the springs of Green Cove 
daily, and a bath and draught of the waters, will be of 
great advantage in the cure of Bright's disease or 



GREEN COVE SPRINGS. 47 

rheumatism. Even for consumptives such a course 
might be beneficial. In all cases it is well to consult 
the resident plrysician before indulging in all the 
enjoyments of the place. The physician, usually, is 
acquainted with the good as well as the unfavorable 
elements of the place, and his advice may be the 
means of warding off many evils. 

The Green Cove Springs are much frequented by 
persons broken down with rheumatism and gouty 
affections. A few consumptives also reside there. 
The village, like Magnolia, is located on the west 
bank of the St. John river, at a point where the 
river is four miles wide. It is about four miles and 
a half from Magnolia. The springs are a short dis- 
tance from the river, and cover an area of thirty 
square feet. The water has a temperature of seventy- 
six degrees Fahr. It is used both for bathing and 
drinking. It contains sulphates of magnesia and 
lime, chlorides of sodium and iron, and sulphuretted 
hydrogen in considerable quantities. Comfortable 
bathing rooms are attached to the springs. Re- 
specting the number of baths necessary, one each day 
may be taken with benefit. More than this should 



48 WINTER HOMES FOE INVALIDS. 

only be indulged in by the advice of a compe- 
tent physician. The quantity of water drunk must 
depend on the disease, and should be regulated 
by a medical man. Patients too often do them- 
selves incalculable injury by incessant " tippling " at 
the springs. 

. There are several pretty cottages and a commo- 
dious hotel, in which visitors for pleasure and health 
can find comfortable accommodations. 

St. Augustine, from its antiquity and historical 
associations, is one of the most interesting cities on 
the continent. Its record is full of thrilling events. 
Ko town in the United States has experienced so 
many vicissitudes, has passed through so many or- 
deals of fire and sword. Its walls are cemented 
with the blood of its enemies and defenders. Four 
times within the last three hundred years it has been 
completely destroyed. It was first destroyed by fire 
by the Huguenot De Gourges, who slaughtered the 
whole Spanish garrison in revenge for the slaughter 
of his Protestant countrymen, in the French settle- 
ment, at the mouth of the St. John river, a year or 
two before. Later, in 1566, the British Admiral 



ST. AUGUSTINE. 49 

Drake landed, sacked the town, and drove the Span- 
iards out. Seventy-five years later the city was 
again destroyed by Davis. It was burned again by 
Moore in 1702. In 1743, Oglethorpe whipped the 
Spaniards, and made considerable havoc in the pal- 
aces of the Dons. During the rebellion its streets 
were the scenes of riot and bloodshed. At the com- 
mencement of the war it was in the hands of the 
Confederates, but soon afterwards the Union troops 
entered and held the town until the proclamation of 
peace. 

St. Augustine is located about fifty miles south of 
the St. John river, on the Atlantic coast. The island 
of Anastasia lies in front of it, and separates it from 
the ocean. The city consists of comparatively small 
houses and narrow streets. A concrete stone called 
coquinia, a combination of powdered shell and sand, 
is used in building. The general aspect of the place 
savors more of the Old World than the New, and 
shows at once its antiquity. 

Since the time when Ponce de Leon, the Spanish 
visionary, landed at St. Augustine in search of the 
famous spring of everlasting youth, this region has 



50 WINTER HOMES FOR INVALIDS. 

been noted for its health-giving qualities. It is pro- 
tected from miasm by the salt marshes around it, 
while the cool air from the ocean tempers its trop- 
ical heat, and renders it a very desirable residence 
for invalids. The climate during winter and sum- 
mer is equable, neither too hot nor too cold. The 
summer's noonday heat is not greater than the heat 
in some parts of Canada and Northern and Middle 
States. All winter the days are warm without being 
uncomfortable. The amount of moisture in the air 
is not very great. There is more moisture in the air 
at St. Augustine than at Magnolia. Those who find 
that element in the air agreeable and beneficial 
should try a residence in the former place. The 
average range of temperature in the month of Jan- 
uary was seventy-five degrees F., in July it was 
eighty-one degrees. The yearly mean, by one 
observer, is given at sixty-nine degrees. 

Private lodgings in tins, as in other resorts, are 
preferable to the hotels. The traveller can find in 
St. Augustine many quiet houses, in which cheerful 
accommodations may be had at reasonable figures. 
There can be no objection to the hotel, however, if 



JACKSONVILLE. 51 

well- ventilated rooms can be secured. The old 
hotels in the town generally lack all the requisites 
of a healthy residence, and, unless they are im- 
proved, they should be shunned under all cir- 
cumstances. 

Jacksonville is the largest town in Florida. It 
lies on the west bank of the St. John, and is the 
centre of the enterprise and business of the country. 
It is about thirty-five miles from the mouth of 
the river, and is in communication, by steam and 
rail, with all parts of the Union. The town 
derives its name from General Jackson, whose 
efforts to subdue the Seminole Indians in Florida 
are well known. 

The thermal variations are much the same as at 
the towns previously mentioned ; the highest tem- 
perature in July, 1872, was ninety-three degrees 
F., the lowest seventy degrees, the highest tem- 
perature during the month of January is given 
at seventy-five degrees, the lowest forty-one deg. F. 

In the town and suburbs there are excellent ac- 
commodations. A residence on the outskirts at " La 
Yille," or Riverside, is more desirable than in the 



52 WINTER HOMES FOE INVALIDS. 

town ; both places are well situated and contain com- 
fortable places of abode. Some prefer the vicinity 
of Jacksonville as a winter-home because of the so- 
ciety which it contains. But independent of its 
life-bustle and constant intercourse with Northern 
ports, it is not so well suited for invalids as places 
previously mentioned. 

Enterprise is acquiring some reputation as a resi- 
dence for invalids, especially for those suffering 
from rheumatism. It is further south than any of 
the resorts spoken of in previous pages. It is 
pleasantly situated on the east side of the St. John's 
river, on the borders of lake Monroe, at the head of 
navigation. There are two places called Enterprise, 
viz., the Old and the New. Old Enterprise is about 
a mile higher up the river than the new village. The 
latter place is in the vicinity of some magnificent 
orange-groves. The country surrounding the south- 
erly resort has greater beauty and interest. The 
day temperature is several degrees higher than at 
Magnolia, and the nights are nearly as cool. Winter 
is like our northern May and June. The annual 
rain-fall amounts to fifty inches. Within a short 



PILATKA. 53 

distance of the village there is a large mineral 
spring, the principal ingredient of which is sul- 
phur. It is eighty feet in diameter,* one hundred 
in depth, and as clear as crystal to the bottom. 
No analyses of its waters have been made, and 
its medical virtues have not yet been tested. 
There are great facilities for fishing and hunting 
within a few miles of Enterprise. Persons ad- 
dicted to those sports make this town their head- 
quarters. 

Pilatka is nearly one hundred miles from the mouth 
of the St. John. It has an excellent location on 
high ground, on the west bank of the river. The 
surface land of the district is for the most part sandy. 
There is little or no mal ariain the vicinity. Al- 
though Pilatka has all the climatic advantages of 
other health resorts on the river, it has not as yet 
become much patronized by invalids. The winter 
months are delightfully warm and the rainy days are 
few. The nights are generally cool enough to allow 
of a comfortable night's rest. There are ^ood hotels 
and private cottages where the traveller may be ae- 

*Beirs Florida. 



54 WINTEE HOMES FOE INVALIDS. 

commodated with either a temporary or a permanent 
residence. 

Western Florida to the health-seekers of the North 
is as yet a comparatively unknown region. The 
means of communication are far behind those of the 
eastern portion. Accommodations for travellers are 
also inferior in every respect. It has, however, a 
fine climate — a climate that is warmer and somewhat 
drier than the eastern side. The rain-fall is less in 
amount and the diurnal variations of temperature 
are not so great or frequent. Frosts are extreme- 
ly rare, During the winter of 1874, Mr. Samuel H. 
Clapp of this city spent several months travelling in 
this part of the State. He speaks in the highest terms 
of the salubrity and health-giving properties of the 
climate. He thinks Tampa Bay is destined to be, in 
the future, one of the principal health resorts in 
Florida. This bay is situated at about the centre of 
the State, opening on the Gulf of Mexico. The 
harbor has a capacity sufficient for vessels of the lar- 
gest size. The . surrounding land is sandy. For 
miles along the shore a beautiful tropical vegetation 
exists. Large groves of orange, lemon and pine- 



CEDAR KEYS. 55 

trees are everywhere to be seen. The best months 
to visit this point are January, February, and March. 
Notwithstanding the fact that Tampa Bay pos- 
sesses many of the requirements of a first-class health 
resort, we would not recommend it as -a permanent 
winter residence, because of the lack of comfortable 
lodging-places in and near the village. It is difficult 
to provide food and other necessaries suitable for 
the fastidious palate of invalids- 
Cedar Keys, in twenty-eight degrees north latitude, 
has a fine climate for rheumatics and consumptives. 



56 WINTER HOMES FOE INVALIDS. 



CHAPTEE IV. 

HEALTH KESOETS IN COLOEADO. 

Mountain ranges and natural parks — Atmospheric characteristics 
of various parks depending upon elevation and surroundings — 
Average range of temperature — Rain-fall — Differences be- 
tween day arid night temperature — Diseases which are re- 
lieved by residence in Colorado — How consumptives are af- 
fected by the thin air — Danger from hemorrhage — Class of 
cases to be sent there — Mineral springs of Middle Park — Idaho 
— Manitou — Environs of Denver, Georgetown, Boulder, Gree- 
ley, etc. 

Though Colorado was known to the Spaniards 
three hundred years ago, its first entrance into civ- 
ilized history dates from the exploration of Zebulon 
Pike in the beginning of the present century. Sub- 
sequently, Long and Fremont added something to 
the general knowledge of the territory. It is only, 
however, within the last fifteen years, that its topo- 
graphy and climate, and its vast mineral and agricul- 
tural resources have become fully and widely 
known. , 

Colorado has had its successes and reverses like 



TOPOGRAPHY OF COLORADO. 57 

other Dew territories. The freDzied rush for the 

treasures in its rocky bosom, transformed the hard- 

workiDg emigrants into lawless hordes anxious to 

\ 
achieve a fortune in a single day. But in time 

the exaggerations vanished, and a stampede of 
weary, disappointed men, half emptied the State. 
But in their place came a steady, hard-working peo- 
ple who have made a substantial foundation of pros- 
perity for themselves, by developing the mineral 
creations of ages and giving them a reliable and per- 
manent value. 

The State occupies nearly the centre of the Great 
West, between latitude thirty-nine degrees and forty- 
two degrees North. In the same latitude, in the 
Eastern Hemisphere, the southern portion of Italy 
is situated. Colorado is bounded on the north by 
Nebraska, on the east by Kansas, on the west by 
Utah, and on the south by New Mexico. The 
widest range of the Rocky Mountains passes 
through the State from north to south. It meas- 
ures two hundred and sixty miles from east to west. 
It occupies a greater elevation above the sea-level, 

and has a more salubrious climate than any of its 
3* 



58 WINTER HOMES FOE INVALIDS. 

neighboring States or Territories. Its topography is 
peculiar. Its valleys and table-lands are as far above 
the sea-level as ordinary mountains are, and its moun- 
tains tower far above the altitude of the great moun- 
tain ranges of the north ; yet in these lands of the 
air there is a glorious profusion and richness of veg- 
etation seen nowhere else in the world at the same 
level. In the White Mountains, at the height of seven 
thousand feet, vegetable life is almost entirely absent, 
while in the Middle Park of Colorado, at eight thou- 
sand feet, cereals and the richest flowers grow, and 
cattle are pastured in the open air most of the year. 
In the Alps, at a similar height above the sea-lev- 
el, the mountain sides and plateaus are covered with 
snow ; wet and rainy weather prevails, and vegeta- 
tion is remarkably scanty. In Colorado, the days of 
winter are like a northern summer without its change- 
fulness, and the summer is but little warmer than the 
winter. The air is very dry and bracing. The nights 
are nearly always cold — in fact, so cold that winter 
clothing is essential for comfort. The peculiar dry- 
ness of the atmosphere of Colorado, and its gener- 
ally equable climate, are due to its location in the 



THERMAL VARIATIONS. 59 

centre of the continent — to its elevation and the 
shelter given it by "Nature's monuments " — the 
mountains. They temper the icy breezes of the 
north and steal their moisture. 

It must be borne in mind, however, that this 
healthf uluess of climate is not peculiar to the whole 
State. It belongs to certain elevations, and moun- 
tain slopes, and valleys. High up in the mountains, 
and in unprotected districts, the fiercest storms rage, 
and variable, rainy and cold weather prevails. The 
mean daily temperature of the eastern slope of the 
mountains during one year, as reported by the United 
States Signal Service, was forty-seven degrees Fahr. 
The hottest mean day was sixty-nine degrees Fahr. 
The rain-fall for the same period was about sixteen 
inches. In New York, one degree further north, the 
rain-fall in the same period reached forty-five inches. 

As the air is exceedingly thin and dry, it is apt to 
cause considerable discomfort to a stranger, making 
the head light and exciting slight hemorrhages from 
the mucous lining of the nasal cavities and bron- 
chial tubes. 

Bayard Taylor states that new-comers may be rec- 



60 WINTER HOMES FOR INVALIDS. 

ognized by the spots of blood upon their hand- 
kerchiefs. 

The whole eastern slope of Colorado and the south- 
ern portions of the natural parks are remarkable for 
their fruitful soil and invigorating atmosphere. 
These parts are suited to consumptives, asthmatics, 
and persons suffering from nervous exhaustion. 
Only those in the incipient stages of consumption 
should reside in this State. When the disease has 
progressed to the second stage — softening of the lung- 
tissue — there is a great tendency to hemorrhage, 
and, as the air excites bleeding even in healthy per- 
sons, it would be disastrous to such patients. In 
fact, it is no uncommon thing for consumptive 
invalids to faint from loss of blood a few days after 
their arrival. But there is no danger if the stranger 
is in the first stages, or if he is free from hemorrhages. 
If, after a couple of weeks' sojourn, he should not ex- 
perience a marked improvement in every respect, a 
change should be made to Santa Barbara, or other 
parts of California. Whether it would be safe for 
the patient to take the journey must entirely depend 
on the condition of his strength. If he should be 



DISEASES BENEFITED BY THE CLIMATE. 61 

very weak, it would be better, perhaps, for him to 
choose some one of the lower valleys at the foot of 
the mountain. 

Persons afflicted with disease of the heart, or any- 
thing else which predisposes to congestion of the 
lungs, should seek another climate. 

Asthmatics can live comfortably in any settled 
portion of the State. They generally find imme- 
diate relief from the disease in any of the habitable 
places in the parks or on the mountain slopes. If, 
however, they do not experience immediate relief 
they must go elsewhere. Those suffering from 
rheumatic and gouty affections should select homes 
near the mineral springs of the Middle Park, Idaho 
or Manitou. 

Winter clothing and warm bed clothes are indis- 
pensable. The material difference between the 
temperature of the day and night will injuriously 
affect the sick and well unless they are prepared 
for it. 

The natural parks of Colorado are at the present 
time the centres of attraction for tourists of every 
nation. They consist of the North, Middle, South, 



62 WINTER HOMES FOR INVALIDS. 

and San Luis parks. Their evergreen hills and 
dales, their exhilarating, bracing breezes, and pure 
air, are rapid restoratives of the sluggish mind and 
feeble body. They are not, however, places for per- 
sons who are broken down, but only for those who 
are breaking. 

The Middle and South parks are more extensively 
known than the others, and are best suited for inva- 
lids. 

Middle Park is located in Summit county. It is 
about seventy miles long and thirty wide. Its en- 
trance is about one hundred miles from Denver City. 
It is encirled by mountains, some of them among the 
highest in the world. Long's Peak, the highest, is 
said to be as high as Mont Blanc ; and Lincoln's 
Mountain is only a few feet lower. The principal 
object of interest for the invalid in this place is the 
Hot Spring, near the banks of the Grand River. 
This consists principally of sulphur, free and in com- 
bination. Bowles, in his " Switzerland of America," 
thus speaks of them : 

"On the hill-side, fifty feet above the Grand 
Biver, and a dozen rods away, these hot, sulphurous 



HOT SPEINGS OF MIDDLE PAEK. 63 

waters bubble up at three or four different places with- 
in a few feet, and coming together into one stream, 
flow over an abrupt bank, say a dozen feet high, into 
a little circular pool or basin below. Thence the 
waters scatter off into the river. But the pool and 
the fall unite to make a charming natural bathing- 
house. You are provided with a hot sitz bath and 
douche together. The stream that pours over the 
precipice into the pool is about as large as would 
flow out of a full water-pail turned over, making a 
stream three to five inches in diameter. The water 
is so hot that you cannot at first bear your hand in 
it, being 110° Fahrenheit in temperature, and the 
blow of the falling water, and its almost scalding 
stream, send the bather shrieking out, on his first 
touch of them ; but with light experiments, first an 
arm, then a leg, and next a shoulder, he gradually 
gets accustomed to both heat and fall, and can stand 
directly under without flinching ; and then he has 
such a bath as he can find nowhere else in the world. 
The invigorating effects are wonderful. There is 
no lassitude or chill from it, as is usually experienced 
from an ordinary hot bath elsewhere. Though the 



64 WINTER HOMES FOR INVALIDS. 

water be 110° warm, and the air thirty to forty de- 
grees cold, the shock of the fall is such a tonic, and 
the atmosphere, strictly, so dry and inspiring, that 
no reaction, no unfavorable effects are felt, even by 
feeble persons, in coming from one into the other. 
The first thing in the morning, the last at night, did 
we renew our trial of this hot bath during our brief 
stay in the neighborhood, and the old grew young, 
and the young joyous and rampant from the experi- 
ence." 

These hot springs are admirably adapted to cases 
of rheumatism, scrofulous skin diseases, and nervous 
prostration from over- work. It must be remembered 
that invalids cannot stand as much as well persons ; 
and that in any case the bathing and drinking should 
be done in moderation. 

South and San Luis parks are much warmer than 
the Middle Park, and better suited for the former 
class of invalids. But the journey over the moun- 
tains to suitable villages in this lonely spot is so 
hard, that only those who are possessed of consider- 
able strength can undertake it. 

Idaho is seven or eight miles from Central City. 



IDAHO — MANITOTT. 65 

It is situated in a lovely valley, in the Rocky Moun- 
tain portion of Clear Creek Valley. The village has 
an elevation of eight thousand feet above the level of 
the sea. ■ Little rain falls during the year, and the 
air is remarkably dry, pure, and bracing. The 
principal attraction of the place is the hot springs. 
These contain sulphates of soda, magnesia, iron, and 
lime.* The waters are used principally for bathing. 
In selecting a residence near the springs, care should 
be taken to find one in a protected situation, and to 
get a room with a southern exposure. The nights 
here, as in other portions of this elevated district, are 
extremely cold, so that extra clothing is always neces- 
sary. When easterly winds are blowing, invalids 
must remain in-cloors. 

Manitou is a small village located near the Moun- 
tain Canon, not far from Pike's Peak. It is in a 
charming situation. The mountains protect it from 
the cold winds, and shade it from the glare of the 
noonday sun, which is apt to be disagreeable. It is 
shady, but has plenty of sunshine. 

The town is rapidly increasing in size from the 
* Mineral Waters of America, by Walton. 



66 WINTER HOMES FOE INVALIDS. 

influx of wealthy Englishmen and Americans, who 
find here a sufficiently healthy climate to meet their 
various needs. It is the summer-home of Mrs. Lip- 
pin cott, well known to all Americans as " Grace 
Greenwood." Mrs. L., in her "Western Letters," 
says : " There is no such air out of heaven for asth- 
matics as in Colorado, and especially at Manitou." 
One of the attractions of Manitou is the mineral 
springs, an analysis of which has not yet been made. 
They are known, however, to contain a large pro- 
portion of sulphur, while one or two contain soda 
in various quantities. 

A steady course of bathing in the water, in con- 
nection with their internal use, removes rheuma- 
tic and gouty pains, while the stimulating air re- 
moves catarrhal affections of the nasal and bron- 
chial mucous membranes, and gives renewed vita- 
lity to the whole system. Asthmatics and persons 
having a consumptive tendency, without hemorrhage, 
will find a residence at Manitou of great benefit. 

The same general measures for protection from 
cold and attention to ordinary hygienic rules are 
also necessary here. 



DENVER. 67 

Some persons in bad health have found a resi- 
dence in or near Denver City to be of benefit. 

Denver is the principal city of Colorado. It is in 
Arapahoe comity, and about fifteen miles from the 
foot of the mountains. It has an elevation above 
the sea-level of four thousand feet. The scenery 
around Denver is magnificent. Nearly two hundred 
miles of the mountain range is visible, including the 
two principal giants of the State, Pike's and Long's 
Peak. 

A residence in the town is not advisable. Suit- 
able accommodations can be had in the suburbs. 

Should the traveller wish to test other places he 
can remain in Boulder, twenty -five miles from Den- 
ver, or in Georgetown, fortv-five miles distant. Some 
like the location of Greeley, fifty miles off. This 
town was started by the agricultural editor of the 
New York Tribune. It has progressed with great 
rapidity, and now numbers a population of 2,000 
souls. 

Part of the route to Colorado is the same as that 
to California. The traveller may take any of the 
routes mentioned at page 55, to Chicago or Omaha. 



68 WINTER HOMES FOR INVALIDS. 

From Omaha the Union Pacific Railway runs to 
Cheyenne, a distance of five hundred and sixteen 
miles. There the Denver Pacific line carries the 
traveller to Denver, and from there stages and cars 
run to all the resorts previously mentioned. Middle 
Park Springs are reached by railway from Denver 
to Golden City, thence to Georgetown by stage and 
over the Berthoud pass into Middle Park by horse- 
back. Idaho is reached by cars to Central City and 
stage six miles to the springs. 



FORESTS OF LONG-LEAVED PINE. 69 



CHAPTEE V. 

PINE FORESTS OF GEORGIA. 

Thermal characteristics of upland districts — Forests of long- 
leaved pine — Changes in atmosphere excited by terebinthine 
odors — Effects on lower orders of animal life and on consump- 
tives — Rain-fall — Average range of temperature — Prevalent 
diseases — Resorts for consumptives or rheumatic patients — 
Mineral springs of Sumter County— Catoosa, Madison, etc. — 
Savannah and its suburbs — Malaria. 

The pine forests of Georgia are a continuation 
of the great belt of pine which extends from Vir- 
ginia to the southern extremity of Florida. In 
Georgia these magnificent forests cover a larger 
area than in any other State. The air is loaded 
with the soothing, balsamic aroma exhaling from 
their countless pores. Manufacturers of turpen- 
tine and resin are looking to these grand groves to 
supply the ever-increasing demand for these products 
which the rapidly disappearing northern forests 
inadequately supply. 

The long-leaved pine is the principal species of 
pine in Georgia. It is sometimes inaccurately desig- 



70 WINTER HOMES FOE INVALIDS. 

nated as yellow pine or pitch pine, as these names 
belong to other species. The long-leaved pine is 
technically recognized as the pinus jpcdustris and 
pinus australis. There are other varieties here, 
such as the pinus treda or loblolly, but the principal 
growth consists of the pinus palustris. Pine trees 
usually grow on sanely soil. They reach a height of 
eighty or ninety feet, and have a diameter of from 
one to three feet. Crude turpentine is the vegetable 
juice of this tree, and also of various species of larch 
and fir. It is obtained by making incisions in the 
bark, and catching the drainings in vessels prepared 
for the purpose. The exudation consists of a resin 
in combination with a volatile oil. When separated, 
-this oil is known as the oil. of turpentine, so univer- 
sally employed in the arts and sciences. It is used 
medicinally both internally and externally. When 
taken internally in small doses it increases the secre- 
tion of all the mucous membranes. It lias a stimula- 
ting effect on the kidneys, aumnentino: the flow of 
urine, and in some cases (if given in large doses) 
it is likely to cause strangury. The drug has also 
some reputation as a remedy for tapeworm. When 



TURPENTINE ODORS IN THE AIR. 71 

applied to the cutaneous surface it produces a 

reddening and tingling — hence its use as a counter- 
ed o o 

irritant. 

Pine grove localities have the reputation of being 
very healthy. There is usually complete freedom 
from malarial and pulmonary diseases. Iron will 
not rust in these woods as rapidly as in other places. 
The terebinthine odor exerts also a peculiar effect on 
the development of the lower orders of animal life. 
They are rarely found to exist in pine groves, and 
their number is increased only by migration. The 
atmosphere, impregnated as it is with the peculiar 
volatile principle of the trees, has a soothing effect on 
inflamed throats and irritable lungs. Strangers on 
their first visit often experience a tendency to stran- 
gury, but, as a rule, the air agrees with everybody. 
Invalids with troublesome coughs and shortness of 
breath, rapidly improve after a short residence, and 
some far advanced in tubercular disease recover 
their health completely. The dryness and mildness 
of the atmosphere has, of course, something to do 
with the beneficial effects experienced, but there is 
no doubt whatever that much of the benefit arises 



72 WTNTEE HOMES FOE INVALIDS. 

from the air being impregnated with the " piney " 
odor. 

The pine woods of Georgia extend from one end 
of the State to the other, along the eastern and mid- 
dle sections. They commence about seventy miles 
from the eastern coast. That portion of the State 
bordering the ocean is partially made up of tide and 
swamp lands suitable for the growth of rice. The 
cotton islands fringing its borders make an excellent 
breakwater, which gives a safe, protected channel 
along its whole extent. In the interior the land 
consists of a rich sandy loam. The northern part of 
the State is mountainous, is rich in minerals, and the 
soil is considered good for the different cereals. The 
southern parts of Georgia are the healthiest ; still, 
many of the northern towns are much visited and 
esteemed by invalids. As in California, there is in 
Georgia every variety of soil and climate. The cool, 
bracing air of the north may be found in its upland 
and western districts, and a balmy, dry atmosphere, 
tempered with cool breezes, in its southern districts. 
Tropical fruits and flowers grow up together with 
the fruits and flowers of the Northern States. The 



CLIMATE OF GEORGIA. 73 

winter days are bright, mild and sunny, with little 
variation in the temperature. The mean temperature 
in December and January is about fifty degrees 
Fahr. In midsummer it is eighty degrees Fahr. 
The average rain-fall is estimated at fifty-five inches. 
These observations were made at Augusta. Further 
south the temperature is somewhat higher. 

Savannah and its environs are visited during the 
winter months by those in search of warmth and 
health. The city is seventeen miles from the mouth 
of the Savannah River, and occupies an elevated and 
commanding situation. In point of artistic beauty, 
it is second to no other city in the Union. Its 
streets are regular and arranged at right angles to 
each other. Lofty evergreen trees line the side- 
walks, handsome squares and plazas contain lofty 
pines, evergreen shade trees, and beautiful walks 
fringed with bright flowers, blooming nearly the 
whole year. These breathing-spots, and the general 
healtlif ulness of the city, make it a desirable resi- 
dence during the winter season. Pulmonary dis- 
eases, such as consumption, bronchitis, etc., are not 
so common as in our Northern cities. Malarial af- 



74 WINTER HOMES FOE INVALIDS. 

fections are rare. The average mean temperature 
is sixty-six degrees Fahr. In winter the days are 
warm and but little rain falls. • There are no marked 
or sudden changes. During the summer Savannah 
is a much pleasanter residence than New York, the 
temperature seldom or never reaching the point it 
does in this city. This equable summer climate 
results from the cool winds coming in from the sea. 
Invalids who require the comforts, the society, and 
recreation which can only be obtained in an impor- 
tant city will be satisfied with Savannah. There are 
numerous hotels and private boarding-houses, on or 
near the principal parts, which are fitted with all 
the modern appliances. Monument square, or Jas- 
per and Forsyth parks are desirable localities for 
consumptives. In the suburbs there are also attrac- 
tive and healthy homes, where strangers are accom- 
modated. The invalid should spend the first few 
days in Savannah quietly. Overmuch sight-seeing 
is not conducive to health, and many are irretrieva- 
bly injured by it. The out-door exercise should be 
taken at separate intervals during the day, and is 
better after meals than at any other time. Riding 



AUGUSTA. 75 

on horseback is better an hour or two after eating. 
IsTo violent exertion is good when taken too soon after 
meals. Strict attention to diet must also be en- 
joined, and especially during the first week or two 
of the patient's sojourn. Augusta is, in the winter 
months, another favorite resort for invalids. The 
city is located on the banks of the Savannah, two 
hundred and thirty miles from its mouth. It occu- 
pies a high bluff, and, although at the head of navi- 
gation, the river is very wide, and both shores are 
picturesque and attractive. The sanitary advantages 
of Augusta are not superior to those of Savannah, 
although a larger number of invalids make it their 
home. The streets of Augusta are wide and beau- 
tiful. They are lined by rows of commanding trees, 
between which in many places are grass plots. The 
air is dry and delicious. The thermal variations are 
not marked. Consumptives receive benefit in a 
short time, if they do not task their strength by im- 
moderate exercise or over-eating. Persons suffering 
from nervous exhaustion, or who are worn-out gen- 
erally from excessive work, will find Augusta a de- 
sirable winter residence. In the city and suburbs 



76 WINTER HOMES FOE INVALIDS. 

are good lodging-places, and no comfort that money 
can procure need be denied the sick. Some persons 
prefer to divide their time between the two cities, 
spending the first part of the winter in Savannah, 
and dwelling in Augusta through the months of 
February, March and April. 

Marietta is a small village near the Kenesaw 
Mountains. It has a fine healthy location, and beau- 
tiful surroundings. In the summer time it is visited 
by the opulent citizens of Atlanta, who prize its 
sanitary advantages. The Northern tourists and in- 
valids, who have visited this village and its environs, 
speak highly of the dry, bracing atmosphere of this 
locality. In the course of time it will probably be 
more widely known. 

The Warm Springs of Meriwether county are the 
most valuable mineral waters in the State of Geor- 
gia. They are situated in a picturesque section of 
country near the Pine Mountains, and are surrounded 
by numerous pleasant walks and drives. The prin- 
cipal spring contains oxides of magnesia and cal- 
cium, protoxide of iron, carbonic acid and sulphuretted 
hydrogen. The properties of the spring are both 



MINERAL SPRINGS. 77 

alterative and tonic. Another valuable spring in 
the same vicinity has entering into its composition 
sulphates of soda and magnesia, and a large quantity 
of sulphuretted hydrogen. There is a cold spring 
containing iron and a large proportion of free car- 
bonic-acid gas. The waters of the warm springs are 
used for both drinking and bathing-. The diseases 
cured by their use are chronic rheumatism and 
gout, syphilis and scrofulous skin diseases. Over- 
doses of the waters sometimes produce violent head- 
ache and purging. At first small quantities should 
be taken and then gradually increased until the 
system is perceptibly affected. The atmosphere in 
the neighborhood is clear and bracing, and doubtless 
tends as much to bring about a restored condition of 
the vital functions as the mineral waters. 

The springs are reached from Columbus by a stage- 
ride of thirty -five miles. The latter place is about 
one hundred and twenty miles by rail from Macon. 

The chalybeate springs of Talbot county are 
located about seven miles south of the Warm Springs. 
They are much employed for the cure of anaemia 
and general debility. 



78 WINTER HOMES FOE INVALIDS. 

The Eed Sulphur Springs of Walker county have 
a reputation for the cure of rheumatic affections and 
skin diseases. The springs are twenty in number, 
and occupy an attractive region near Lookout Moun- 
tain, at the base of Taylor's ridge. This portion of 
the State of Georgia contains some of the choicest 
scenery in the world. The air is cool and bracing 
in summer time. In winter it is mild the greater 
part of the season. The springs of course are the 
principal attraction for invalids. A quantitative 
analysis of them has not yet been made. They all 
contain sulphates of magnesia and soda, sulphuretted 
hydrogen ; one or two contain iron, and hence are 
employed for their tonic effects. 

In Catoosa county there are some valuable 
mineral springs, about four miles from Ringgold, 
on the Western and Atlantic Railroad. They are 
reached from the latter place by stage. Previous to 
the war these springs were visited by large numbers 
of invalids annually, but since then the patron- 
age has diminished, and the buildings have been 
allowed to get out of repair. Still, there are good 
accommodations for all who choose to visit them. 



MADISON MINERAL SPRINGS. 79 

The major part of the springs contain as a principal 
ingredient iron in various combinations. A few 
have a large proportion of sulphur. 

The Madison springs of Madison county are 
situated a few miles from Athens. Neither a quan- 
titative nor a qualitative analysis has yet been 
made ; they are said to contain sulphur and its 
compounds in large quantities. 

The time occupied in the journey from New York 
to Savannah by rail, is fifty-four hours ; by steamer 
it is sixty hours. There are three lines of steamers, 
which send boats on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and 
Saturdays from New York. 



80 WIXTER HOMES FOR" ESTAEEOS. 



CHAPTER YL 

HEAETH RESORTS IX THE CAROLINA?. 

Geological formation of South Carolina — Eastern, Middle, and 
"Western regions — Healthy portions of the State — Malarial 
regions — How the poison may be avoided — Thermal varia- 
tions — Rain-fall — Pitch-pine forests — "Where consumptives 
should reside — Mineral springs for scrofulous and rheumatic 
patients — Consumptive patients in Aiken — Environs of Char- 
leston — District of Spartanburg — Slopes of the Blue Ridge — 
G-len and Limestone Springs — Xorth Carolina — Mineral Springs 
— Morganstown — Asheville. 

The Palmetto State before the war occupied an 
enviable position. Her marvellous agricultural aud 
mineral resources were being rapidly develojjed, and 
her citizens enjoyed .the gratification of a constantly 
increasing prosperity. Unfortunately the war of re- 
bellion, and evil political influences since, have sadly 
blighted her hopes of prosperity. 

There is. however, in many parts .of the State, 
strong, healthy reaction. Business, in some of the 
seaport towns, is steadily increasing. In some places, 
where there lias been constant and direct communi- 



CLIMATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 81 

cation with the north, and where Northern capital is 
supplied, there has been complete recovery, a renewed 
life, and there can be no doubt that South Carolina, 
so rich in soil and minerals, will once more recover 
its old prosperity. 

The greater part of the eastern coast of the State 
is low and swampy, and is used principally for the 
production of rice. The cotton islands, upon which 
grow the famous sea-island cotton, front this part 
of the State. Farther inland the country is still flat 
and uninteresting. Towards the west and north it 
gradually rises, until the Blue Ridge Mountains are 
reached. This portion and the sandy uplands, covered 
with pine, are the driest and healthiest in the State. 
In many respects it has a climate resembling South- 
ern Europe, without any more sudden variations in the 
daily temperature than are noticed there. Both the 
Carolinas are good winter resorts, but they are ob- 
jectionable in the summer months. Malarial fevers 
prevail then along the eastern coast, the margins of 
streams, — in fact over all the low and damp regions 
of the country. In some of the principal seaports 

yellow fever sometimes occurs, either sporadically 
4* 



82 WINTER HOMES FOE INVALIDS. 

or epidemically. There has been no serious epi- 
demic of that disease for some years. The rainy 
season also occurs in the summer. Heavy and fre- 
quent rains are common, and the air is loaded with 
moisture. From these causes the climate is not 
suited as a summer residence for Northerners, except 
in the extreme northern and western portions of 
the State. During the winter there is very little 
rain ; the days are usually cloudless and warm. The 
diurnal thermal variations are greater than in Flor- 
ida. Between the day and night temperature there 
is often a difference of twenty degrees. Hence, in- 
valids must pay great attention to their clothing, 
and provide suitable winter dresses for clay and even- 
ing wear. Consumptives generally improve faster 
in the high lands of the western part of the State 
than in the counties bordering on the Atlantic. 
However, there are some who prefer the moister 
and lower lands, and who do well there. Rheu- 
matic and gouty patients may reside anywhere in 
the neighborhood of the mineral springs. Those 
afflicted with malaria will do well to seek a residence 
in some other State, but they may derive benefit from 



AIKEN. S3 

the climate of the northern slope of the Blue Ridge 
Mountains. The Fall and Spring months are the 
best seasons to reside in South Carolina. The latter 
part of December, January and February, consump- 
tives who are beyond the incipient stages will 
do well to go further south into Georgia or 
Florida. March and April are exceedingly mild 
in South Carolina, and very free from disagreeable 
variations. 

Aiken is the principal centre for consumptive 
invalids in the Southern States. But like many 
other, places its advantages are often over-estimated. 
Those who have come away from it benefited, extol 
the virtue of the climate, while the unfortunates, 
who have not been relieved, express their thorough 
dissatisfaction with it. The town, however, both in 
its location and surroundings, is well suited as a 
winter home for those in the incipient stages of 
tubercular disease, and also for rheumatic and 
grmty patients. It occupies a high sandy ridge near 
the Edisto and Savannah rivers, and in its vicinity 
there are beautiful groves of the long-leaved pine. 
The air is clear and mild. On some it has a stimulat- 



84 WINTER HOMES FOE INVALIDS. 

ing effect. The average mean temperature is sixty 
five degrees. In the selection of Aiken as a residence, 
due attention must be first given to the patient's con- 
dition ; for many who are unable to bear the fatigue 
of the journey die here a few days after their arrival. 
The number of lives thus brought to an untimely 
end is larger than is generally supposed. Not loug 
since we were informed by a medical gentleman 
who investigated the matter, that the principal busi- 
ness transacted by the Southern Express companies 
in winter was the transportation of dead bodies to 
friends in the North. The} 7 made more money by 
this sort of traffic than in any other way. That 
there is considerable truth in this statement there 
can be no doubt, and invalids and their friends 
should reflect before determining upon a change 
of residence to a distant State. 

In and near Aiken are good hotels and private 
residences, where comfortable accommodations may 
be had. Here also preference should be given to the 
smaller and more convenient cottages. The avoid- 
ance of the rush, crush, and noise of the hotels is a 
matter of great importance, and never should be lost 



SELECTION OF A RESIDENCE. 85 

sight of. It lias a very depressing effect to live in a 
room surrounded on all sides by sufferers from pul- 
monary affections, and who keep up a constant 
"hacking" and coughing, night and day. In many 
places the hotels are neither more nor less than 
hospitals on a large scale, without the necessary 
accessaries of a corps of visiting and consulting 
physicians. 

If, after a residence of two or three weeks in 
Aiken, a marked relief is not experienced by the 
patient, a change of residence should be made fur- 
ther south or north, according to the special wants 
of the patient. Some who do not improve in Aiken 
find a suitable atmosphere in the mountainous 
regions of the West, while others go to Florida and 
derive benefit. If several different climates have 
been tried without any amelioration in the disease, 
the patient should return home. A few of such in- 
valids recover after return. Though feeling no 
benefit from the change at the time, its effects 
are observed when settled at home amid home com- 
forts. 

The town of Spartanburg, and the Glen Springs 



86 "WINTER HOMES FOR INVALIDS. 

near it, are rmich resorted to by sufferers from rheu- 
matism and cutaneous diseases. The town is situated 
in a mineral region two hundred and fifty- three 
miles from Charleston. It is near the scene of the 
famous battle of the Cowpens, where Tarleton, the 
British general, was defeated during the days of the 
revolution. The air in the vicinity of Spartanburg 
is cooler than at Aiken, and quite as dry. As it is 
more out of the line of travel than Aiken it is not 
much visited by consumptives. 

The Glen and Limestone springs are visited by the 
Charlestonians in summer, but they are also good 
winter resorts. The waters are used with benefit in 
certain forms of rheumatism and scrofula. Dr. J. 
Xott, of Texas, spent some time there ' during the 
past year. He speaks in the highest terms of the 
air and scenery in this region. The waters of the 
spring contain sulphites of magnesia and lime, car- 
bonate of lime and sulphuretted hydrogen. A 
quantitative analysis has not yet been made. As 
the town is located in the northern extremity of 
the State, on high ground, the air is colder and more 
breezy. 



MOUNTAIN REGIONS OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 87 

Greenville is also patronized during the summer 
months by the South Carolinians. Visitors from the 
north speak highly of its beautiful location, the 
healthfulness of the climate, and the varied 
and grand scenery in its neighborhood. It lies 
at the foot of the Saluda Mountain, in one of the 
highest districts of the State. Consumptives who are 
enervated by a very warm atmosphere will probably 
find that the climate of Greenville or its vicinity 
will give them renewed vigor. 

The town is ninety-three miles nearer Charleston 
than Spartanburg. 

The Iocasse Valley is situated in the midst of 
the mountains, in a dry and fertile region. The 
neighborhood is full of wild impressive scenery. It 
is much visited in winter and summer, and in the 
winter the weather is cool, but not disagreeably so. 
It is sheltered from storms of wind and rain by the 
surrounding mountains. The nights are sometimes 
very cold, raw and disagreeable, and consequently 
extra clothing is desirable at that time. Only persons 
with a considerable amount of strength should seek 
a winter home here. Those who are suffering from 



88 WINTER HOMES FOR INVALIDS. 

over-work, who are nervous and unstrung, will find 
the climate of this valley particularly beneficial. 
In the surrounding country, as game is abundant, 
there is excellent hunting and fishing, and there 
are quiet little villages where tired folks can rest 
and obtain comfortable lodging-places among a 
hospitable people. 

Sullivan's Island, near Charleston, is now quite a 
resort for pleasure-seekers. It is said to be a most 
desirable place for invalids. In winter many North- 
erners reside on the island. Some of them, great suf- 
ferers from rheumatism, say they find the climate to 
be agreeable and well suited to their special afflic- 
tions. 

North Carolina furnishes some remarkably salu- 
brious localities for the broken-down and over- 
worked. Its mineral springs also furnish vital pab- 
ulum for rheumatics. North Carolina has its sister 
State and Georgia on the south — Virginia and Ken- 
tucky on the north ; its eastern coast is on the At- 
lantic. Like South Carolina its territory may be 
divided into three portions, viz., a coast region, low, 
in many parts covered with pine; a middle district, 



CLIMATE OF NORTH CAROLINA. 89 

hilly and dry, and the western region, which is 
mountainous. 

The middle and western portions of the State are 
the healthiest — up among the mountains and along 
the slopes of the Blue Ridge. The air is cold and 
stimulating. 

The climate has none of the characteristics of 
Florida or of the southern parts of its sister State. 
In winter the atmosphere is cold and contains but 
little moisture, and is free from sudden variations. 
The mean temperature of the middle section of the 
State is sixty-six degrees; the mean summer temper- 
ature seventy-five degrees, and the temperature dur- 
ing the winter months is forty-three degrees. The 
annual rain-fall is forty-five inches. These hio;h re- 
gions have been found to suit that class of consump- 
tives who need cold bracing air, without dampness, 
or excessive diurnal variations. It has not the in- 
tense coldness of Minnesota or the Adirondacks, and 
is therefore better fitted for the class of cases we 
speak of than either of these regions. Asthmatics 
also receive benefit here. Some leave completely 
cured. The north and north-western sections are 



90 WINTER HOMES FOE INVALIDS. 

good resorts for invalids suffering from nervous pros- 
tration. They can exercise in the mountain air daily. 
Either walking or riding is good for them and for 
other jjatients able to bear out-door life without too 
much fatigue. 

Morgantown, in the high western portion of the 
State, is one of the oldest towns in the county. It 
lies in a commanding situation on the slopes of the 
Blue Ridge Mountains, in Caldwell Co. It has an 
elevation of eleven hundred feet above the sea-level. 
The scenery at various points near the town is said 
to be exceedingly beautiful. During the winter the 
days are cold and the air contains but little moisture. 
The nights are always cold. Fine drives can be 
taken all through the surrounding country on good 
roads. All who prefer dry mountain air will be 
satisfied here. 

A few miles from Morgantown there are some 
excellent mineral waters. They contain sulphur and 
iron in variable quantities, and are said to possess 
diuretic, tonic and alterative properties. As yet, 
however, they are not much visited — on account of 
the limited accommodations for travellers in their 



THE SHOCCO SPRINGS. 91 

vicinity. In time they will doubtless become fa- 
miliar resorts for invalids of all classes. 

Asheville is another interesting village situated 
in a lovely valley near the French Broad River. It 
possesses all the natural advantages of a cold, dry 
lieal th resort. Comfortable homes can be had, suit- 
able for both invalid and tourist. This is a railroad 
and stage centre. Travellers come and go to all 
points. Stages leave Asheville every morning for 
the warm springs on the banks of the French Broad 
River. They are justly celebrated all over the 
State for their curative properties. Many intracta- 
ble cases of chronic rheumatism have been cured by 
them. The temperature of the springs varies from 
ninet}^ to one hundred and three degrees. Their 
chemical composition has not been accurately ascer- 
tained. They are known, however, to contain car- 
bonic acid, carbonate and sulphate of lime and 
magnesia. There are other springs in this neighbor- 
hood also having some therapeutical value. 

The Shoceo Springs of Warren county enjoy some 
favor in the treatment of chronic skin diseases and 
rheumatism. They contain sulphates of soda and 



92 WINTER HOMES FOE INVALIDS. 

magnesia, and sulphuretted hydrogen. They some- 
times produce profuse diuresis. To reach these 
springs the traveller will go by rail from Raleigh 
to Warrentown, and from the latter place a stage- 
drive of nine miles will take him to the springs. 



GLIMATE OF KENTUCKY. 93 



CHAPTER TIL 

HEALTH RESORTS IN KENTUCKY. 

Climate of Kentucky — Peculiarities of country — Limestone re- 
gions — Agricultural products — Thermal variations — Rain-fall 
— The value of mineral spring waters in the treatment of 
diseases — Faith — Diseases which are benefited by bathing in 
and drinking mineral waters — Mineral springs — Upper and 
Lower Blue Lick, Big Bone, Mastodon, Paroquet, Olympian, 
Estele, Crab Orchard, Harrodsburg — Louisville artesian well 
— Virginia mineral springs. 

The climate of Kentucky is not suitable for con- 
sumptives or those who are much debilitated by grave 
disorders. The changes of temperature are often 
sudden and extreme, and exert a prejudicial effect 
on weak and sensitive organizations. The State, how- 
ever, is considered extremely healthy. The winter, 
though cold, is short. In the north and north-eastern 
portions of the State it lasts about three months ; in 
the south it can scarcely be said to exist over two 
months. The seasons of spring and autumn are 
very mild and agreeable. The thermal variations, 
as obtained by the United States Signal Service at 



94 WINTER HOMES FOE INVALIDS. 

Louisville, show the mean temperature of January 
to be thirty-one degrees, of July seventy-nine de- 
grees Fahr. The rain-fall is estimated at thirty-eight 
inches. The atmosphere all over the State is consid- 
ered very pure and bracing. It is well adapted to 
those who are overworked and who much need a 
change of air and scenery. In the south-east portion 
of the State the country is mountainous and wild, 
affording excellent opportunities for enjoying the 
beauties of nature and the sports of the huntsman. 
The western part of Kentucky is undulating, hilly 
and fertile. The limestone regions are the most 
productive in an agricultural point of view. 

Kentucky is visited yearly by large numbers of 
invalids, who seek a restoration of health by the free 
use of the mineral waters which abound in all pai ts 
of the State. The medicines furnished by mother 
earth are daily growing more and more fashionable. 
People have greater faith in them than in the pro- 
ducts of the laboratory, and faith, though not recog- 
nized by authorities as a remedial agent, is neverthe- 
less a valuable adjunct in the treatment of all 
forms of disease. And when in addition to this faith 



MISUSE OF MINERAL WATERS. 95 

they reside in a bracing atmosphere, are regular in 
their habits, and have complete rest from work and 
worry, there is really very little for the mineral 
waters to do. Fully appreciating as we do the value 
of mineral waters in certain diseases, we cannot 
but feel that too much importance is attached to 
their daily use as well as to the use of other medi- 
cinal agents. A judicious system of advertising 
and purring is at the bottom of the reputation of 
many of the mineral springs in this country and in 
Europe. Men who know little of disease generally, 
discover their hidden virtues. They advertise — hire 
a chemist to make an elaborate analysis, and a physi- 
cian to make a report of the diseases which it cures, 
and little time passes before invalids crowd to the 
place with exaggerated expectations. It would be 
strange indeed if some of them were not benefited, and 
many doubtless are. But the promiscuous dosing 
of old and young with mineral waters, no matter 
what diseases affect them, is unqualifiedly wrong, 
and productive of great physical barm. The fam- 
ily physician is the one to decide whether the patient 
should visit the springs, and not the proprietor, who 



96 WINTER HOMES FOR INVALIDS. 

has everything to make and nothing to lose by the 
visit. The diseases which are cured by the adminis- 
tration of mineral waters are few. A brief refer- 
ence to them will be necessary in this connection. 
In rheumatic affections there is usually an excess of 
lactic acid in the blood, which manifests itself by 
exciting inflammation in the fibrous structures of the 
joints. Alkalies are given to counteract the effects 
of this acid, and they can be administered in no better 
way than as they flow from the natural fountains of 
the earth. Bathing in warm saline waters, also, 
diminishes the acidity, and when followed by a brisk 
rubbing, stimulates the circulation so much as to re- 
move the congestions around nerves and joints, and 
establish an equilibrium in the circulating fluid. 
Then the fresh pure air which usually exists in the 
locality of the springs also adds to the patient's stock 
of vitality, promoting digestion, and preventing the 
mal-assimilation which produced the acid. Gouty 
affections also are relieved by the use of saline 
waters. But before any special benefit can accure 
to the patient, he must regulate his diet, and refrain 
from the use of alcoholic stimulus. Waters and 



DISEASES BENEFITED BY MINERAL WATERS. 97 

medicine fail to effect a cure while Nature's laws are 
outraged. The mineral spring waters which con- 
tain an excess of sulphur with salines, are much used 
in the treatment of lead and mercury poisoning. In 
lead-poisoning specially the internal and external 
use of sulphur water is valuable. The lead in the 
system combines with the sulphur, and is thrown 
out through the various emunctories. In the various 
forms of scrofulous skin diseases, mineral waters are 
often prescribed without reference to the special 
wants of the patient, hence the bad results which 
constantly occur. 

Hard drinkers, whose abdominal viscera are con- 
gested by the excessive use of alcohol — who are 
bloated and covered with the papular rash of rum 
— are more benefited by a systematic course of saline 
waters than any others. Five or six weeks of hard 
drinking at the springs, instead of the bar, will re- 
move the general plethora — relieve the liver aud bow- 
els of their congestion, and give tone to the digestive 
functions. When there is a watery condition of the 
blood, with general debility, mineral waters contain- 
ing iron are sometimes beneficial. Iron increases the 
5 



98 WINTER HOMES FOE INVALIDS. 

quantity of red globules in the blood, besides giving 
tone to the stomach — hence the efficacy of waters or 
preparations containing the metal. Alkaline waters 
are of great use in certain affections of the kidneys 
and bladder. In the incipient stages of Bright's 
disease, or when the kidneys are not eliminating 
a sufficient quantity of metamorphosed nitrogeniz- 
ed material from the blood, these waters are always 
good. \Yhen the solid constituents of the urine are 
deposited in the form of gravel, a moderate use of 
salines will be of benefit. The deposit disappears 
sometimes from the first doses of the waters, but, on 
discontinuing them, reappears, so that a prolonged 
course of the waters is necessar3 r for permanent re- 
lief. The mineral waters containing an excess of 
soda and potassium are the best for cases of gravel. 
Small quantities should at first be administered, 
the doses being very gradually increased until the 
system is affected. 

We have no faith in the treatment of paralysis by 
mineral waters. There is no harm, however, in trying 
them, especially in the form of baths, which by stimu- 
lating the circulation may assist in bringing about a 



MINERAL SPRINGS OF KENTUCKY. 99 

successful termination of the disease. But the bath 
can generally be had at home ; there is consequently 
little use in taking a paralyzed patient from the com- 
forts of home to the disquietude of a hotel among 
strangers. 

Kentucky is famous for the abundance of her 
mineral springs. The encomiums bestowed on their 
curative properties by physicians have placed them 
on the list of valued therapeutical remedies. On 
the margin of the Licking River, in Nicholas coun- 
ty, are several important springs respectively denom- 
inated as the Upper and Lower Blue Lick Springs. 
The Upper Blue Lick Springs are about twelve miles 
from Maysville, in a fine healthy country. The 
waters are employed both for drinking and bathing. 
They have a slight cathartic and diuretic action. 
In congestion of the liver, rheumatism and gout, 
they are employed with considerable benefit. From 
Judge and Fennel's analyses, as given in Dr. 
Walton's "Mineral Springs," we learn that their 
ingredients are carbonates of magnesia and lime, 
chlorides of potassium, sodium and magnesium, 
sulphates of potash and lime, iodide and bromide 



100 WINTER HOMES FOE INVALIDS. 

of magnesium, alumina, peroxide of iron and sili- 
cic acid. 

These springs are favorite resorts of Western peo- 
ple, but the accommodations for travellers are not 
the best in the world. Improvements, however, 
are being made. 

The Lower Blue Lick Springs have also a good 
reputation. The early settlers in the region cured 
their venison with the salt which crystallized on the 
margin of the springs. The largest spring at this 
point is close to the river's edge, and is about five feet 
deep. An analysis of those waters by Dr. Peters 
shows that they possess a similar chemical composi- 
tion to the Upper Bine Lick Spring. They are 
used for gout, rheumatism, syphilis and scrofulous 
skin diseases. 

In Boone county there are several valuable 
springs. The principal ones are the "Big Bone," 
"Mastodon," and "American Epsom." They are 
located about seven miles from Walker, on the Louis- 
ville and Cincinnati Railroad. It was in this neigh- 
borhood that remains of the extinct mastodon, an 
animal of the elephant species, were discovered. 



PAROQUET. 101 

The principal ingredients of those springs is sul- 
phur. They contain in varied quantities sulphuret- 
ted hydrogen, chloride of sodium, sulphates of mag- 
nesia, soda and alumina, biearbonates of lime and 
magnesia, and carbonate of soda. These waters are 
specially adapted to the treatment of skin diseases 
both syphilitic and scrofulous. Persons who are 
troubled with looseness of the bowels must partake 
of these waters with great caution. The effects of 
small doses should be noticed before the quantity is 
increased. 

The Paroquet Springs, in Bullitt county, are locat- 
ed a few miles from Shepherds ville. According to 
the analysis of Prof. I. L. Smith, they contain carbo- 
nates of soda, magnesia, iron and lime ; chlorides of 
potassium, sodium, magnesium, and calcium ; sul- 
phates of soda, alumina and lime ; iodides of sodium 
and magnesium, silica, carbonic acid and sulphuret- 
ted hydrogen. From this analysis it is readily seen 
that these waters possess valuable therapeutical prop- 
erties. They are much used in the treatment of 
kidney affections, rheumatism, gout and cutaneous 
affections. Some physicians recommend them in 



102 WINTER HOMES FOE INVALIDS. 

chronic inflammations and diseases of the intes- 
tines. 

The Esculapia Springs of Lewis count} 7 are also 
employed in skin and kidney diseases. They excite 
all the secretions, but especially increase the action 
of the skin. In the majority of cases their diuretic 
and diaphoretic action is well marked. Sulphur is 
their principal ingredient, although they also contain 
in small quantities lime, magnesia and sodium in 
combination with carbonic acid and chlorine. In the 
same neighborhood there is a good chalybeate spring, 
the waters of which have been found efficacious in 
the treatment of general debility accompanied by 
anaemia. 

A few miles from Mount Stirling, in Bath county, 
are the celebrated Olyuquan Springs. The neighbor- 
hood of these springs is one of the finest in the State. 
The country around is wild, hilly and picturesque, 
and, independently of the mineral waters, is a good 
place to spend a few weeks. The air is cool and de- 
lightful, and agrees with most visitors. There are 
three principal springs, the most inportant of which 
has been analysed by Dr. Peters. He found carbo- 



ESTILL SPRINGS. 103 

nates of magnesia and lime, chlorides of potassium, 
sodium, and magnesium, sulphide of iron, bromine, 
alumina, silica, carbonic acid and sulphuretted hy- 
drogen. This spring flows at the rate of six gallons 
per minute. The diuretic action of the water from 
this spring is equal to the others. Hence it is fre- 
quently employed in the treatment of chronic affec- 
tions of the kidneys and bladder. Of the other 
two springs in this locality, one is known as the 
Black Sulphur Spring, and the other contains iron. 
Neither of these latter are much used by invalids. 

The Estill Springs comprise several varieties. 
They are located in Estill county. The principal 
purgative spring is the " Irvine." It contains carbo- 
nates of lime, iron and magnesia. Its principal in- 
gredient is sulphate of magnesia, ordinarily known as 
" Epsom Salts." The waters are employed for ob- 
stinate constipation, congestion of the liver, and to 
relieve plethora. The sulphur springs of this re- 
gion are known as the Red, White and Black sul- 
phur springs. An analysis of the " Red " shows that 
its constituents are sulphates of potash, soda, and 
magnesia, sulphuretted hydrogen, carbonates of soda, 



104 WINTER HOMES FOE INVALIDS. 

magnesia, and lime, chloride of sodium, silica and 
carbonic acid. 

The third spring of the Estill group contains 
more of the salts of lime and magnesia than sulphur, 
and also more carbonic acid gas. It has a strong di- 
uretic and alterative action. 

The Crab Orchard Springs are situated in Lincoln 
county. The waters of these springs contain large 
quantities of magnesia and lime. The " Crab Or- 
chard salts," * which are much employed in the West 
instead of Epsom salts, are manufactured from 
these springs. An analysis shows that the water con- 
tains in one hundred parts sixty-three of sulphate of 
magnesia, four parts of sulphate of soda, and four 
parts of chloride of sodium or common salt. There 
are also minute proportions of lime, iron, silica and 
bromine. As is readily seen by their constituents, 
these springs have a cathartic action. They are 
used principally in obstinate constipation and tor- 
pidity of the liver. 

Harrodsburg Springs is the favorite summer re- 

* Walton. 



MINERAL SPRINGS OF VIRGINIA. 105 

sort of the Kentuckians. The country is exceedingly 
attractive and healthful. The village and springs 
are about thirty miles from Frankfort. The waters 
contain carbonates of iron and lime, sulphates of 
magnesia and lime, and chloride of sodium. They 
have a laxative effect, and are employed in con- 
stipation, dysentery, and congestion of the portal 
system. 

Climate of Virginia and Mineral Springs. — 
The State of Virginia possesses a salubrious climate. 
Only the south and south-easterly portions, made up 
of lowlands, suffer from malarial disease. During 
the summer the mountainous regions of the State, 
and especially those where mineral springs exist, are 
thronged with visitors from all parts of the Union. 
Of course the springs are the principal attraction. 
They are among the most valuable in the world. 
The Greenbrier White Sulphur Spring has an excel- 
lent reputation for the cure of dyspepsia, constipa- 
tion, skin diseases, rheumatism, and Bright' s disease. 
The springs are located in a valley surrounded by 
the Greenbrier Mountains. Although on apparently 
low ground, the spot is two thousand feet above 



106 WINTER HOMES EOE INVALIDS. 

the sea-level. The temperature of the mineral 
waters is about sixty-two degrees Fahr. They 
contain carbonates of lime and magnesia ; chlo- 
rides of sodium, magnesium, and calcium ; sulphates 
of soda, magnesia, and alumina ; iron, sodium, sul- 
phuretted hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen and carbonic 
acid.* Walton says they resemble in composi- 
tion the sulphur waters of Neuendorf, in Electoral 
Hesse. 

These waters are alterative, diuretic, and cathartic. 
The family physician or the resident physician at 
the springs should always be consulted with regard 
to the quantity to be taken internally, and applied 
in the form of baths. In some forms of consump- 
tion and disease of the heart, they often do positive 
injury; therefore the advice of competent physicians 
is always necessary. 

In Monroe county, Virginia, there are a large 
number of valuable springs. The most important are 
the Red Sulphur Springs, which possess a peculiarity 
of composition and therapeutical action not found in 

* Walton. 



RED SULPHUR SPRINGS. 107 

other waters. With the ordinary ingredients, such 
as carbonates and sulphates of soda, lime and magne- 
sia, they contain a peculiar compound of sul- 
phur and organic matter. Prof. Hayes, in his report 
of the analysis of this substance, says: " The peculiar 
sulphur compound which forms a part of the saline 
contents of this water has never been described, if 
it has ever been before met with ; while in the nat- 
ural state and out of contact with atmospheric air 
it is dissolved in the water and forms a permanent 
solution. Air, acids, and other agents separate it 
from the water in the form of jelly and alkaline car- 
bonates ; alkalies, water, and other agents redissolve 
it It has no acid action on test-fluids, but bears that 
character with bases, and forms compounds analo- 
gous to salt. In its decomposition ammonia is form- 
ed, and hydro-sulphuric acid is liberated ; or, if heat 
be employed in the experiment, sulphur is separated. 
It combines with the oxide of silver, and forms a 
salt of a reddish-purple color, in the form of a iloc- 
culent precipitate which dissolves in pure water, 
with the oxide of lead, a yellowish-white powder, 
and with the oxide of copper a pale blue salt in tine 



108 WINTER HOMES FOE INVALIDS. 

powder. Mixed with a small quantity of water and 
exposed to a temperature of eighty degrees F., it 
decomposes and emits a most offensive odor of pu- 
trefying matter with hydro-sulphuric acid. 

These waters have a sedative effect. They reduce 
the frequency of the heart's action, and are hence 
useful in all diseases when the action of the heart 
is abnormally increased, either in force or fre- 
quency. They are also said to be beneficial in 
pulmonary complaints, such as chronic bronchitis 
and chronic pneumonia. They act by diminishing 
the congestion of the mucous membrane, and allay- 
ing irritation. In large doses the waters have a 
cathartic and diuretic action. 

In the same county there are also the salt sulphur, 
sweet sulphur, and iodine springs, which are much 
employed in diseases of the liver, especially those 
which arise from the excessive use of alcoholic stim- 
ulants, skin diseases, and syphilis and scrofula. The 
waters containing iodine are particularly applicable 
to syphilitic and scrofulous diseases, and many suf- 
ferers are relieved by drinking and bathing in the 
waters. 



YELLOW SULPHUR AND ALUM SPRINGS. 109 

The Yellow Sulphur Springs of Montgomery 
county are also much used. They contain magnesia, 
iron, lime, soda, potash, and alumina in various 
combinations. The springs are located on the east 
side of the Alleghany Mountains, in the midst of 
wild and beautiful scenery. There are facilities 
here for bathing as well as for drinking. 

The chalybeate sweet springs of Alleghany county 
are much employed in diseases which impoverish 
the blood, such as anaemia, chlorosis, and exhausting 
discharges. Warm baths can be had daily. 

The alum springs of Rockbridge county and the 
alum springs of Pulaski have a beneficial action 
in chronic diarrhoea, dysentery, night sweats of 
phthisis, and profuse leucorrhcea. They are re- 
markably astringent in taste. They consist of chlo- 
ride of sodium, sulphates of potash, magnesia, 
and lime, iron, alumina, chromate of ammonia, 
silicate of soda, sulphuric acid, silicic acid and 
carbonic acid. 

In one half-tumbler dose six times each day these 
waters have a strong diuretic action.* 

* Walton. 



110 WINTER HOMES FOE INVALIDS. 

The regions occupied by these various mineral 
springs, although mainly resorted to in summer, are 
good places to spend the winter months. All those 
who like a cold bracing atmosphere, and a lovely 
country, will receive benefit anywhere among these 
mountains. 



CLIMATE OF THE WEST INDIES. Ill 



CHAPTER YIIL 

VARIETIES OF CLIMATE IN THE WEST INDIA ISLANDS, 

Northern group — The Bahamas— Peculiarities of location— Ef- 
fects of Gulf Stream on the climate— Moisture in the atmos- 
phere — Variations of temperature — Rainy seasons — Produc- 
tions of the soil — Diseases which are benefited by a residence 
in the Bahamas — New Providence — Nassau— Harbor and Turk 
islands — Middle group — Cuba — San Domingo — St. Vincent — 
Trinidad — - St. Croix — St. Thomas — Martinique —Southern 
group — Curagoa. 

As the West India Islands cover an area of three 
thousand miles and extend from ten degrees to 
twenty-four degrees North latitude, and have every 
conceivable variety of geological conformation, it 
necessarily follows that the climate must vary. 
Some are healthy— others are unhealthy. One isl- 
and possesses an equable, dry and warm atmosphere, 
another a moist and changeable one, and yet another 
an equatorial climate, burning and dry, which none 
but those born and bred there can bear. It will, 
therefore, be only necessary, to describe the prevail- 
ing characteristics of certain islands which are suit- 



112 WINTER HOMES FOE INVALIDS. 

able for invalids and the diseases which are favor- 
ably influenced by their climate. 

First on the list we find the northern group of 
islands, commonly known as the Bahamas. Like 
most of the other West India Islands, they have had 
an eventful history. The irrepressible Spaniards 
first took possession of them shortly after their dis- 
covery by Columbus in 1492. San Salvador or Cat 
Island was without doubt the first land discovered 
by the great navigator, although the honor has been 
claimed for "Watling's Island. The Spaniards en- 
slaved, outraged, robbed and murdered the Indians, 
until their extermination rendered further atrocities 
impossible. 

The English occupied the islands from 1629 until 
1641. An interval of Spanish misrule JEollo wed that 
period, until 1676, when the English resumed pos- 
session. But it was not until 1783 that they came 
permanently under the dominion of the British 
Crown. 

The number of islands in the Bahama group is 
variously estimated at from three to four hundred. 
Like the Bermudas they owe their origin to the coral 



CLIMATE OF THE BAHAMAS. 113 

insect, and their upper strata of soil is made up of a 
concrete mass of coral and shelly sand. They extend 
in a curved line six hundred miles long, and in a 
north-westerly direction. Their western extremity 
is separated by the Gulf Stream from Florida, and 
the Bahama channel lies between the south-eastern 
island and Cuba. They stretch from twenty de- 
grees to twenty-seven degrees north latitude. There 
are few hilly districts in the islands ; most of the 
land is flat and scarcely raised above the level 
of the sea. The soil is rich and exceedingly 
productive. Corn, beans, and potatoes are raised 
in large quantities. All the tropical fruits, such 
as figs, oranges, bananas, grow on all the islands. 
Logwood, cedar and satinwoocl trees are also abun- 
dant. 

The Bahamas are sufficiently removed from the 
tropics to escape the burning rays of the equatorial 
sun. The climate is mild and equable in winter, 
and warm without undue heat in summer. The win- 
ter lasts from November to April. During this pe- 
riod the temperature rarely runs above seventy de- 
grees Fahr., or falls below sixty degrees Fahr. The 



114: WINTER HOMES FOE INVALIDS. 

sea breezes coming in from the north keep up a 
delightful temperate coolness which is exceedingly 
grateful to patients from New York's changeable 
climate, In the summer the mercury seldom reaches 
ninety degrees Fahr. or falls below seventy degrees. 
As the islands are flat, the sea breezes from all sides 
sweep over every part, and the atmosphere is thus 
changed, and kept pure and temperate. There are 
no indigenous diseases. 

The foreign visitors, however, who come long dis- 
tances in an incurable state, swell somewhat the 
sick-list and mortuary records. For several years 
past some of these islands have become resorts for 
the class of consumptives who thrive best in a 
moist atmosphere. 

Xew Providence is the principal island of the 
group. It is twenty miles long, seven miles wide, 
and extends from east to west. Near the coast is a 
range of hills, upon a part of which Nassau, the 
capital of the group, is built. 

Nassau is in latitude twenty-five degrees north. It 
is well laid out. has capacious streets, and is the 
ereat centre of commerce and industry in these 



CLIMATE OF NASSAU. 115 

parts. The harbor is very fine and well protected. 
During the Southern war it gained considerable re- 
pute as a refuge and a starting-point for blockade 
runners. Since their trade ceased, the city has 
gone back in a business point of view, and the 
false temporary prosperity which it then gained has 
already left it. 

The climate is very healthy. The weather during 
the winter is mild, clear and invigorating. The at- 
mosphere is usually moist, and is therefore not suited 
for invalids wiio prefer a dry air. The special needs 
of the patients must be determined before they leave 
home. If a cool, dry air is best suited for them — 
and this fact is easily ascertained — they must not go 
to Nassau. From meteorological records which we 
have before us, we find that the maximum tempera- 
ture in January (the coldest month of the year) was 
eighty degrees Fahr., while the minimum was fifty- 
eight. In July, the warmest month, the highest 
point reached by the mercury was ninety degrees — 
the lowest eighty-three. In February the maximum 
temperature was seventy-eight — the lowest sixty- 
oight. The greatest amount of rain falls in the 



116 WINTER HOMES FOR INVALIDS. 

summer months, but there is also considerable rain 
in winter. 

Patients should not prolong their stay into the 
summer months unless they have recovered their 
normal standard of strength, and are cured. Con- 
sumptives should select homes in the outskirts of 
Nassau, or in the country districts of other parts of 
the island. 

Harbor Island is situated in latitude twenty-five 
degrees north, a few miles from Nassau. It is 
considered a desirable place for invalids, and many 
go there in preference to New Providence. The 
lack of facilities for communication with the 
outer world makes it less desirable as a place of 
residence. 

Turk's Island, at the extreme south of the group, 
in latitude twenty-one degrees north, is also a good 
health resort. It is not as accessible as either of the 
islands previously mentioned. Punning in a south- 
easterly direction from the Bahamas, the next group 
in importance is known as the Yirgin Isles. They 
are not under the rule of one nation ; the English, 
Spanish, and Danish governments hold various 



SANTA CBUZ. 117 

parts. There are three principal islands here, 
frequented by American tourists for health and 
pleasure ; viz., Santa Cruz, St Thomas, and St. 
Yincent. Santa Cruz or St. Croix, as it is some- 
times called, is situated in latitude eighteen de- 
grees north, and as a sanatarium has a greater 
reputation than the others. It is twenty-seven 
miles long, and seven wide, and has an area of 
one hundred square miles. Its soil is fertile and 
the general aspect of the country is pleasing. 
Flat undulating lands are diversified by long 
ranges of high hills which rise in some places to 
the dignity of mountains, while handsome villages 
grace the sloping edges of the hills or nestle in the 
valleys. The principal hilly portions occupy the 
centre and western districts of the island. All the 
varieties of tropical fruit grow in rich profusion 
and flowers bloom continually. The island has been 
settled so long that it is in a high state of cultiva- 
tion. The roads are over one hundred miles in ex- 
tent, and are as hard and firm as those of Central 
Park, There are no marsh or swamp lands in 
Santa Cruz ; everything is dry, and the inhabitants 



118 WINTEK HOMES FOE INVALIDS. 

are consequently free from that plague of southern 
climes, malaria. The west side of the island is 
warmer and better protected by the hills than the 
east side, so that very delicate persons may select a 
residence in this portion without danger from gales 
that sometimes pass over the land. August, Sep- 
tember, and October are the stormy months, and are 
sometimes called the hurricane months. Very little 
rain falls either in winter or summer; in fact rain 
is one of the principal wants of the people. At one 
time the ordinary toast at convivial gatherings was 
" more rain." This dry, warm, pure atmosphere 
makes the climate of Santa Cruz peculiarly agreea- 
ble to persons suffering from pulmonary complaints, 
rheumatism, and diseases of the kidneys; many suf- 
fering from these diseases find relief even from a 
short residence. A correspondent of the Post, who 
had winter experiences at different parts on the 
shores of the Mediterranean ports, says " that for 
equability of temperature, security from reverses 
for the invalid, a soothing balm in every breath 
that is drawn, with the accompaniments of natural 
claims, Santa Cruz has no competitor." 



ST. THOMAS. 119 

The thermometer ranges during the winter months 
from seventy-six to eighty- two degrees. In summer 
the heat is very slightly increased. 

Comfortable homes are to be found in all parts of 
the island. In the principal towns, Chri-stiansted 
and Frederickstadt, there are good hotels. But the 
villages or plantations among the hills offer the most 
desirable homes, both in point of comfort and health- 
fulness. 

Santa Cruz is reached by the Brazilian line of 
steamers from New York to St. Thomas, and 
thence a sail of four hours lands the passenger in 
Christiansted. 

St. Thomas, the second island in commercial im- 
portance belonging to this group, has also some repu- 
tation as a health resort. It is situated thirty-eight 
miles east of Porto Rico. The surface land is hilly 
and without the natural and artificial beauty of 
Santa Cruz. The productions of the soil, with one 
or two exceptions, are unprofitable. Cocoa-nut 
groves are plentiful, and some cotton is raised. 
Water is scarce, and for all household purposes the in- 
habitants have to depend on the rain. The principal 



120 WINTER HOMES FOE INVALIDS. 

harbor, St. Thomas, is a stopping-place for nearly 
all the steamships that visit the West India Islands. 
They maintain the prosperity of the place, and give to 
it its prominence as a commercial centre. The cli- 
mate is very mild and equable, especially in win- 
ter. It is somewhat warmer than Santa Cruz — more 
tropical in character. Malarial diseases are more fre- 
quent. Invalids should avoid the night air as much 
as possible. Some forms of Bright's disease of the 
kidneys and consumption are cured by this climate. 
Though inferior to Santa Cruz as a sanatarium, it is 
worthy of a trial. 

The island of St. Vincent, held by the British, is 
one of the most productive and interesting of the 
West India group. It is located in latitude thirteen 
degrees ten minutes north, measures eighteen miles 
in its longest diameter, and is eleven miles broad. 
It is about ninety miles from Barbadoes. 

The surface land is made up of mountains and 
picturesque fertile valleys. The mountain chain 
runs from north to south, and is covered by dense 
forests. Sounriere, the principal volcanic mountain, 
is three thousand feet above the level of the sea, and 



CLIMATE OF ST. VINCENT. 121 

has a crater three miles in circumference. The cul- 
tivated sides of the mountains are very rich, and 
agricultural products of all kinds are plentiful. The 
most unpleasant feature of the country is the enor- 
mous quantity of rain which falls yearly. In some 
localities it reaches over one hundred cubic inches. 
But the subsoil is gravelly and the flowing streams 
are free and numerous, so the soil does not retain 
the water; consequently the healtkf illness of the 
place is not impaired. The weather during winter 
and summer is warm and equable. In January the 
lowest temperature is seventy-two degrees, the high- 
est eighty-four; monthly mean, seventy-eight de- 
grees. During July of the same year, the ther- 
mometer ranged between seventy-eight and eighty- 
seven degrees. These small variations of tempera- 
ture are unusual, and show conclusively that the 
climate is a desirable one for that class of invalids 
who thrive in a warm, equal, moist atmosphere. It 
is not as suitable for patients with Bright's disease, as 
those islands where the moisture is at a minimum. 

Kingston, the capital town, is on the south-west 
coast. It is a thriving, busy place, and considered 



122 WINTER HOMES FOR INVALIDS. 

quite healthy. The high districts near this town, 
however, are much more desirable resting-places. 
The patient should be furnished with waterproof 
clothing and thin flannels. 

Barbacloes, the most easterly of the Caribbee Isl- 
ands, and one of the most important, is situated in 
latitude thirteen degrees four minutes north. It is 
twenty-two miles long, fourteen broad, and has an 
area of one hundred and sixty-six square miles. The 
Portuguese discovered it in 1600, but established no 
settlements. In 1605, the British planted their flag 
on the spot now occupied by Bridgetown, the capital 
of the island. The base of the island is of calcareous 
origin. The surface land is, for the most part, flat, 
with the exception of the north-eastern portion. 
Here there is a gradual elevation, which at some 
points is eleven hundred feet above the seadevel. 
Fart of the soil is sandy and porous ; in some places 
there is a rich dark loam, which is very productive. 
The whole island is under cultivation. Its green 
fields, and rich groves of tamarinds and other trees, 
give it a fine appearance. The climate is everywhere 
warm, equable, and healthy. The thermometer, in 



CUBA. 123 

December, ranges from seventy-three to eighty-five 
degrees, in February from seventy-one to eighty-four 
degrees. The sea breezes sweep over the whole land, 
and keep the air pure and comparatively cool. Oc- 
casionally fierce storms occur, which do some damage 
to houses near the coast ; otherwise there is no un- 
pleasant weather. Consumptives and patients with 
Bright's disease often find this climate of great bene- 
fit, and a residence of a few months in winter is cer- 
tain, in the majority of cases, to produce a change for 
the better, if not a perfect cure. Either at Bridge- 
town or Speight's Town, or in any of the villages or 
plantations in the country districts, good homes may 
be had, with all necessary accommodations. 

There are many favored localities in the island of 
Cuba, where the health-giving properties of the cli- 
mate are such as all consumptive invalids need. 
But at the present time its disturbed social con- 
dition renders it unfit as a residence for nervous 
invalids. A few words, however, respecting its cli- 
matic characteristics will not be out of place. The 
island is the largest and richest of the Antilles. 
It extends from latitude nineteen degrees fifty mm- 



124: WINTEB HOMES FOE INVALIDS. 

ntes to twenty -three degrees nine minutes north. 
The central portions of the island are mountainous. 
An extensive range, the Copper Mountains, runs 
through the central portion, and is covered with 
dense forests. The neighboring valleys and culti- 
vated slopes are exceedingly mild and healthy. 
The rainy season in Cuba occurs during the sum- 
mer, and the rain-fall is very large, amounting to 
nearly one hundred cubic inches yearly. The cli- 
mate is essentially an open-air one. People eat, 
drink, and even sleep out-doors. Although under 
a tropical sun, the heat, except in extraordinary 
seasons, and occasionally at noon, is never very 
oppressive. The air is kept in motion by the 
cooling breezes from the sea. The best season for 
invalids is from the first of December until the last 
of March. Summer months in Cuba are decidedly 
unhealthy. Yellow-fever often prevails in the sea- 
ports, and mild types of remittent and intermittent 
fevers appear in the interior districts. 

Some invalids prefer Havana and its environs as a 
winter residence, but there are more suitable places. 
Matanzas, San Antonio, Santiago, or some of the 



SAN "DOMINGO. 125 

villages in the interior, near the mountains, are 
preferable. In the winter season Matanzas is 
delightfully mild. The pure sea breezes temper 
the sun's rays. The town is located on the south- 
western part of Matanzas Bay. It has the same 
Spanish look, and its people the same Spanish 
customs, that are the noticeable features in other 
parts of Cuba. Malarial fevers prevail to some 
extent in the town and low lands in the neighbor- 
hood. There is a hill called the Cumbre, back of 
the place upon which many private residences are 
built. If board can be had in any of these, the 
patient would find himself with the best surround- 
ings that can be had in Cuba. 

The climate of San Domingo or Hayti is highly 
spoken of. The dry season, from December to the 
latter part of March, is the best for invalids. 
During these months the weather is remarkably fine. 
The air is warm but exhilarating. As the island is 
mountainous, different regions present different ther- 
mal variations, and the traveller can find places cool, 
or very warm and sheltered. Patients suffering 
from disease of the kidneys, rheumatism, and pul- 



126 WINTEE HOMES FOR INVALIDS. 

monary complaints, find great relief from a few 
months' residence. The change from the cold, raw, 
damp atmosphere of our Northern cities to a genial 
sunny home cannot but be followed by good results. 
There is some malaria in the flat lands of the island, 
but the types of disease resulting from its introduc- 
tion into the system, are mild in comparison with 
similar fevers in the United States. 

San Domingo extends from eighteen degrees to 
twenty-one degrees north latitude. It is four hun- 
dred miles long and one hundred and fifty wide. 
The principal city is San Domingo. Throughout the 
island there are many interesting places, where the 
traveller, by a judicious method of " roughing it, " 
may enjoy himself exceedingly. 

Some of the Dutch West India Islands near Ven- 
ezuela enjoy the benefits of a healthy climate. They 
are best suited for persons with kidney diseases. The 
principal island of this grouj) — Curacoa — has long 
been a favorite resort for sufferers from Bright's dis- 
ease. Some also with consumption receive great 
benefit by a sojourn there. The principal town of 
this island is "Willemstad. It is finely situated, 



HOW TO GET THEKE. 127 

very healthy, and excellent accommodations may 
be had for invalids and tourists. 

There is constant communication between New 
York and the various islands of the Antilles. Ele- 
gant steamers — safe and in the hands of able officers 
■ — leave at intervals of a week for Cuba, St. Thomas, 
San Domingo, Nassau in the Bahamas, and other 
ports ; and from them smaller vessels can always 
be obtained to transport the traveller to islands of 
lesser note. 



128 WTXTEE HOLIES FOE INVALIDS. 



CHAPTER IX. 

BEPAITDA ISLANDS. 

Coraline formations — "Where the zoophytes work — Composition 
of coral— Soil produced by coral sand and decaying vegeta- 
tion — Location of islands — Trade -winds — Prevailing "winds — 
Thermal characteristics in -winter and summer — Rain -fall — 
Prevalent diseases — Annual mortality — Best months for con- 
sumptives and other invalids — "What to eat. drink, and wear — 
"When to exercise — Bermuda. St. G-eorge, Somerset, Ireland 
— Towns of Hamilton and St. George. 

Ix tlie warm latitudes of all parts of the globe, cor- 
aline formations lift their heads above the waters. 
The architect zoophytes^ with tireless energy, by their 
delicate work have created " oases in the desert of 
waters.*' where the storm-driven mariner may find 
a refuge and a rest. They have indeed builded bet- 
ter than they knew in lifting up these small islands 
in the trackless ocean. 

As the islands under consideration owe their ori- 
gin to the little zoophyte, it may not be amiss to ex- 
amine for a moment the peculiarities of its work. 
It usually commences operations thirty or forty feet 



FORMATION OF CORAL. 129 

below the surface of the water on some pre-existing 
rocky formations. This fact has been proved by 
careful investigations. The old idea that they began 
to build in the uttermost depths of the ocean is conse- 
quently no longer tenable. The polyp attaching it- 
self to the rock, secretes a calcareous substance which 
is cemented and hardened by a peculiar animal mat- 
ter. This gives to coral greater firmness and smooth- 
ness. The • little builders themselves increase by a 
process of budding. Small projections grow out from 
the body of the parent, which live and act indepen- 
dently, and finally separate from the parent stem, 
when the latter's term of life and work is ended. 
And thus the work is kept up ; the laborers increase 
with the labor to be performed. The manufacture 
of coral takes place with rapidity. It grows several 
feet in less than a year. Channels which have been 
cut through coral reefs deep enough to allow of the 
passage of large vessels, have been almost entirely 
filled up in the space of ten years. Some of the 
principal groups of islands in the Atlantic and Pa- 
cific are formed of coral. The base of the Bermu- 
das and the reefs around are entirely of coraline 
6* 



130 WINTEE HOMES FOE INVALIDS. 



gr 



owth. According to kelson the surface rock 
of the islands has been formed at the expense of 
the projecting coral reefs. Violent storms crum- 
bled them into sand, which was carried along and 
piled in drifts by the winds and^waves. Mixed with 
all kinds of sea-shells, in the course of time it hard- 
ened, and now exists as a rock of creamy white co- 
lor — very porous, but not liable to crumble after ex- 
posure to the air. It makes excellent building stone 
and is much employed for that purpose in the isl- 
ands. This hard surface is free from water and 
dampness. Springs of water do not exist anywhere. 
No amount of boring will reach drinking water. 
The inhabitants have to depend solely on the clouds 
for their supply of drinking water. The number of 
the Bermudas is variously estimated. Some with an 
abnormal aptitude for counting, run the number up 
to eight hundred — others make it five hundred — but 
irrespective of the little jagged rocks which lift their 
brown heads above the waters, the number of isl- 
ands — which may with truth be termed islands — 
does not exceed one hundred. These do not extend 
over twenty miles in their longest diameter, and the 



BERMUDA ISLANDS. 131 

width of the widest is about three quarters of a mile. 
They lie in latitude 30° 20' north, and longitude 64° 
50' west, and in a direct line are six hundred miles 
from Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. They are se- 
ven hundred miles from New York. Twenty of 
the islands are inhabited. The five largest include 
Bermuda (also called the continent or mainland). 
St. George's, St. David's, Somerset, and Ireland. 
Bermuda and St. George's are the principal islands 
visited by tourists and invalids. Like most of the 
islands and continents on this hemisphere, they owe 
their discovery to the enterprise of a Spaniard named 
Juan Fernandez, who landed there in 1527, but the 
islands were afterwards lost sight of until 1609, when 
Sir George Somers was wrecked on the Isle of Devils 
while on his way to a colony in Virginia. Shortly 
after the Virginia Company had the islands incor- 
porated in their charter, and they have remained a 
dependence of Great Britain ever since. This power 
has developed an industrious colony and made the is- 
land harbors a rendezvous for her men-of-war in the 
Atlantic. The land is exceedingly productive. Fruits 
grow and flowers bloom everywhere. The pome- 



132 WINTER HOMES FOE INVALIDS. 

granate, fig and orange grow up with pears and 
fruit of more northern climes. The cocoanut, India- 
rubber, waving palm, and tamarind-trees, with the 
Pride of India, are found in all parts. Bananas are 
raised in large quantities. 

The climate of the Bermudas has been higlilj ex- 
tolled by tourists and invalids who have sojourned 
there during the winter months. The weather is 
mild and does not produce the languor of other at- 
mospheres nearer the tropics. This fine weather, 
however, is frequently interrupted by fierce storms. 
The prevailing winds in winter are west and north- 
west. The south-west wind brings with it violent 
storms, and a change in the temperature of about 
fourteen degrees. The mean temperature of the 
winter months is sixty degrees Fahr., and the mer- 
cury rarely falls below forty degrees in the coldest 
and stormiest weather. In the summer months it is 
considered unusual to have the temperature remain 
for any length of time above eighty-five degrees F. 
The air is generally moist, and its warmth is kept up 
by the influence of the Gulf stream, which flows be- 
tween the islands and the American coast. The 



CLIMATE OF THE BERMUDAS. 133 

nights are cool. Rain falls copiously in winter. 
The rain is caught in tanks on the house-tops and in 
the rocks, and stored for household purposes. At 
first sight it would seem that the prevailing mois- 
ture of the air, with heat, would not be conducive to 
health, but the mortuary records exhibited by Dr. 
Gidet state the average mortality at 14.5. per cent. 
From the influx of visitors afflicted with, consumption 
and kindred complaints the death-rate of late years 
has been very likely increased. Malarial diseases 
are unknown on the islands, unless among those who 
have brought the disease with them. Once in every 
five or six years yellow-fever epidemics occur in the 
summer. Its ravages are often increased by the 
crowded condition of the hulks and vessels in the 
harbors and the bad ventilation of the ports and hos- 
pital. Rheumatic diseases are rare, and persons suf- 
fering from rheumatism sometimes find relief by 
residing a few weeks on the islands, even without 
the aid of medicines. 

The consumptives most benefited by the climate 
are those whose disease originated in inflammation 
of the bronchial tubes — i.e., inflammatory or catarrhal 



134 WINTER HOMES FOR INVALIDS. 

phthisis. The tubercular form of consumption does 
not experience the same degree of relief. But this 
may arise from the fact that the disease is associated 
with greater debility than the other, and the patients 
are therefore unable to resist the depressing influen- 
ces of a long journey, and a boarding-house life 
among strangers. If a patient cannot walk a mile 
or two without much fatigue he should stay at home, 
Chronic bronchitis in all its forms is benefited by 
the climate of Bermuda. 

Asthmatics are frequently benefited by a few 
weeks' residence in Bermuda during the winter 
months. If the climate is suitable for them a change 
for the better is noticed immediately. If they do 
not experience relief within the first fortnight of 
their sojourn, another resort should be tried. 
Tourists and invalids suffer considerably from indis- 
cretions in eating and drinking during the early part 
of their visit. As the inhabitants are to a great ex- 
tent isolated from the surrounding world, social and 
convivial gatherings are frequent. Late dinners and 
wine-drinking are fashionable. Strangers require 
but little urging to make them fall in with the cus- 



WHAT TO EAT, DRINK, AND WEAR. 135 

toms of the country. They eat and drink until some 
inflammatory disease of the digestive organs awakens 
them to a sense of propriety. During the first 
few weeks' residence a greater regularity of diet and 
abstinence from alcoholic stimulus should be observ- 
ed than is necessary at home. In fact such persons 
are better without alcohol. The poison seldom as- 
sists the cure of disease. The utmost care is neces- 
sary until the system becomes accustomed to the 
change of air, water, and diet. Every excess must 
be avoided, or the weakened frame will receive an 
extra blow from which it cannot recover. 

Flannel -must be worn next the skin from No- 
vember until March. Extra clothing is specially 
necessary after sundown, as the nights are always 
cool. 

The Island of Bermuda, also known as the conti- 
nent or mainland, is the largest of the group. 
Hamilton, the principal town, is the centre of the 
enterprise and business of the island. Hamilton is 
a town of two thousand inhabitants. The houses 
are built of the peculiar shelly sandstone previously 
referred to. The roofs are plastered and fitted so as 



136 WINTER HOMES FOR INVALIDS. 

to catch the rain. The front street close to the 
water is shaded on each side by the beautiful Pride 
of India trees. The bark of this tree has some re 
putation as a cathartic and anthelmintic. The 
principal hotel is near the back part of the town. 
It is said to be well kept. There is a level district 
behind the city half a mile wide. Beyond that the 
country is hilly. The wealthy inhabitants of the isl- 
and live in handsome cottages in these suburbs or on 
neighboring islands ; very few people live in town 
after business hours, and at night when the stores 
are closed it has a deserted appearance, no life or 
bustle visible anywhere. 

Invalids seeking a residence in Hamilton may re- 
side in the hotel or some of the cottages in the 
wooded districts in other parts of the island. The 
latter are preferable. There is excellent fishing and 
bathing in the transparent waters around the island. 
The temptation to bathe too long is very great, but 
invalids must remember that it is dangerous. Five 
minutes in the water is sufficiently long for delicate 
persons, and from fifteen to twenty minutes is 
enough for the healthiest. Bathing, like all other 



137 

good things, is very injurious when taken in ex- 
cess. 

St. George's Island is about three miles in length, 
and half a mile wide at its widest part. It has a 
fine harbor, whose waters are exceedingly clear and 
transparent. It is walled in oil all sides, with the 
exception of the entrance, which is extremely narrow 
and protected by a fort. The town derives its name 
from Sir George Somers, who was wrecked here. In 
its appearance and surroundings it is essentially 
Spanish. The streets are narrow, irregular, and run 
hither and thither without any regard to symmetry or 
neatness. The suburbs and outlying portions of the 
island are exceedingly productive, and bloom with a 
rich profusion of fruit and flowers. This island was a 
favorite resort for privateers during the war of seces- 
sion. It was there also that Dr. Blackburn and 
others were said to have concocted the plan of in- 
troducing yellow-fever into the cities of the Northern 
States. Although there are many interesting places 
in and around St. George, invalids prefer remaining 
in Bermuda. There is more life and more social 
enjoyment in the latter place, and the majority of 



138 WINTER HOMES FOR INVALIDS. 

people away from home are attracted there in conse- 
quence. A circle of sympathizing acquaintances is 
a preventive of homesickness (nostalgia), a disease 
which affects visitors to islands in the middle of the 
Atlantic. 

Somerset Island, one of the most fertile of the 
Bermudas, was named after Robert Carr, Earl of 
Somerset. It has no town of importance, or harbor 
suitable for trading vessels. There are many fine 
residences scattered about in picturesque localities, 
and those who like a good home, quiet and unosten- 
tatious, will be suited there, and benefited by the 
pure balmy atmosphere. 

Ireland is an island used almost entirely by the 
British Government for military purposes. It is 
one mile long, and one and a quarter broad. One 
of the largest floating docks in the world lies in the 
harbor. It was towed across the ocean by five steam- 
ships. It is three hundred and eighty-seven feet in 
length. The British have also established here a 
hospital for their sick soldiers and employes in the 
dock-yards. During epidemics it is usually over- 
crowded, and the mortality is very great. With 



IRELAND ISLAND. 139 

proper ventilation, and greater accommodation for 
patients, the mortality would be much smaller. Be- 
tween Ireland and Somerset is the small island of 
Boaz. It is connected by a bridge with the former 
place, and by a ferry with the latter. Constant com- 
munication is kept up between the various inhabited 
islands by means of boats, carriages, and bridges. 
The traveller is thus enabled to make many interest- 
ing excursions to the various islands of the group. If 
he is inclined to study the life of the myriads of mol- 
luscse and other industrious dwellers of the coral 
mass and jaggscl rocks jutting out from the transpa- 
rent waters, he can do so with great satisfaction. 

The communication between the Bermuda Islands 
and New York is not very frequent. In the winter 
months vessels leave once in each fortnight. In the 
spring and summer, weekly trips are made. 



14:0 WINTEE HOMES FOE INVALIDS. 



CHAPTEE X. 

SANDWICH ISLANDS. 

Location — Structure of the Islands — Thermal variations at 
different altitudes — Climate of northern and southern shores 
— Effects of trade-winds on climate — Rain-fall in Hilo and 
Honolulu — Absorption of moisture by the soil — Products of 
civilization — Prevalent diseases— Resorts for consumptives — 
Peculiarities of climate in Oahu, Hawaii, Maui — Three prin- 
cipal towns, Honolulu, Lahaina and Hilo. 

The Hawaiian or Sandwich Islands form a chain 
in the great watery desert of the Pacific, three hun- 
dred and sixty miles long, curved from east to west 
and from north to south. The northern extremity 
of the chain is situated at twenty-one degrees, and the 
southern island, Hawaii, at nineteen degrees north 
latitude. They are in a direct line between Canton 
and San Francisco. While the earth was yet in its 
infancy these islands were thrown up from the 
ocean's bed by volcanic action. Even at the present 
day their subterranean origin is fully shown. The 
mountains and valleys consist mainly of a mixture 



CLIMATE OF THE SANDWICH ISLANDS. 141 

of lava and sand, to which is added at the lower moun- 
tain slopes, a rich deposit of vegetable mould pro- 
duced by ages of decay. Immense coral reefs stretch 
out from the shore in various parts, forming natu- 
ral breastworks for the protection of their harbors. 

Although within the tropics, the climate approx- 
imates to that of the temperate zone. The ocean 
which surrounds them and the trade winds which 
are constantly blowing over the land maintain an 
agreeable and bracing atmosphere, which countries 
in the same latitude seldom possess. The trade 
winds (or constant winds as they are sometimes 
called), coming from north of the equator, blow over 
the land in a north-easterly or north-westerly direc- 
tion. The northern and easterly portions of the isl- 
ands receive their full force, and consequently are 
often subject to disagreeable and changeable weather. 
Great rains varying with fierce gales are of com- 
mon occurrence. The severity of these winds, how- 
ever, is diminished by the mountains, which take 
away their coldness and condense their vapor into 
rain and snow before they reach the south-eastern 
shores. There is a striking difference in climate on 



142 WINTER HOMES FOR INVALIDS. 

the two sides of these islands. On one it is con- 
stantly dry — on the other as constantly wet. In 
one portion it is almost impossible to obtain suf- 
ficient water for drinking and agricultural pur- 
poses, while in another the. country is full of over- 
flowing streams, and rain-storms are frequent. Thus 
in the district of Hilo, on the island of Hawaii, 
there are sixty streams running down to the ocean. 
At Kowa, on the other side, water has to be carried 
in barrels for the ordinary uses of the inhabitants. 
At Hilo it often rains steadily for three weeks, 
while in the former region perhaps not more 
than one day in the year. The rain-fall in Hilo 
is about seventeen feet in twelve months y in Kowa, 
forty-five inches. Yet with this vast amount of 
moisture the north-eastern slopes are not unhealthy. 
The lava soil is porous and the water drains off 
rapidly, leaving the ground dry and fit for walking. 
It is said that the islanders have no word in their 
language to signifiy weather. Many attempt to ex- 
plain this by saying that with a climate so equable 
and mild there was no need of the term. It is more 
likely that they could not find a term strong enough 



CLIMATE OF THE SANDWICH ISLANDS. 143 

to express the sudden and uncomfortable changes 
on the northern side of the whole chain of isl- 
ands. 

The hottest month in the year is June — the coldest 
is January. The thermal variations along the south- 
ern coast are small. The mean temperature of the 
year is stated by Dr. T. M. Goan at seventy-five de- 
grees Fahr., and the diurnal variation in the best 
weather about fifteen degrees. During the north- 
east storms which sometimes prevail in the spring 
and fall months, the thermal variations of ten amount 
to thirty degrees. The climate of the southern por- 
tion of the islands, however, is an excellent one for 
invalids. It is mild and invigorating, and especially 
suitable for those suffering from consumption in its 
incipient stages. 

Patients troubled with Bright' s disease or rheuma- 
tism also receive some benefit by a residence there. 

Though living in a land comparatively free from 
endemic diseases the native inhabitants are fast dying 
out. When Capt. Cook visited the islands in 177 ( <\ 
the population numbered between three and four 
hundred thousand. Ninety years later the number 



144 WINTER HOMES FOE INVALIDS. 

dwindled to fifty-six thousand. This rapid decrease 
is still going on, and will only end with their total 
annihilation. The causes of this decay are many. 
They owe their origin mainly to the farcical civiliza- 
tion of the nineteenth century and its polluted accom- 
paniments. The people were vigorous, hardy, and 
prolific when the islands were first thrown open to 
commerce. Since then their history has been marked 
by disease, degradation, and death. The influx of 
foreign visitors from so-called Christian ports intro- 
duced and developed gambling, drinking, licentious- 
ness, -and the worst forms of specific disease. Hav- 
ing thus disseminated their rottenness and sin and 
destroyed a nation, we are now called upon to look 
at the beautiful results in the shape of free schools 
and an educated people, and shut our eyes to the 
rest. All the work, all the absorbing labor and 
energy of the devoted missionaries have not been suf- 
ficient to counterbalance the frightful evils afflicted 
by their own countrymen. The majority of the 
natives are industrious only in their licentiousness, 
and they lack the moral power to do better. Noth- 
ing can save them from total annihilation — not even 



PREVALENT DISEASES. 145 

tlieir education, or the religion of those under the 
direct care and supervision of the missionaries. The 
principal diseases which flourish among the natives 
are syphilis, leprosy, and aneurism. On the island 
of Molokai there is a leper hospital into which all 
those tainted with leprosy are placed. They are 
clothed and fed by the government. Persons who 
have visited them say that they seem to be com- 
fortable and happy in the midst of their terrible 
surroundings. Malarial fevers do not prevail to 
any extent. When they do occur they are of an ex- 
ceedingly mild type. The natives, when attacked, 
labor under severe depression of spirits and cry and 
act in a childish manner ; hence the disease has been 
named the Boo-Koo fever. Aneurisms and other 
diseases of the circulatory system are not uncommon. 
Some attribute them to the enervating influence of 
the climate, to its relaxing effect on the blood-vessels. 
It is more than probable that the prevalence of 
venereal diseases anions: all classes is the real 
cause of these afflictions. One of the most common 
causes of degeneration of the arterial Avails is 

syphilis. Whether this explanation be the correct 

7 



146 WINTER HOMES FOR INVALIDS. 

one or not, persons suffering from diseases of the cir- 
culatory apparatus should not visit the islands for 
any length of time. Consumption carries off a large 
number of the native population. Among the 
foreign residents it is rare. • 

The atmosphere of the southern portions of these 
islands being free from dampness and very mild, 
sufferers from pulmonary complaints are benefited 
by it. Invalids can live in the open air ; taking ex- 
ercise and enjoying the sunshine during the winter 
months without inconvenience or harm. The occa- 
sional occurrence of a "north-easter " is of no conse- 
quence ; it rather helps to relieve the monotony of a 
long period of fine weather. 

The islands principally resorted to by invalids 
are Oahu, Maui, and Hawaii. There are nine other 
islands in the group, but none of them have places 
suitable for the accommodation of strangers. 

The island of Oahu, the fourth in size and the 
first in importance, contains the principal towns and 
harbor of the entire group. The city of Honolulu 
is situated on its south-east side, on the borders of 
the harbor of the same name. It has a population 



HONOLULU. 147 

of about fifteen thousand, composed principally of 
foreign merchants. Beyond the town, and between 
it and the mountains, lies the fertile valley of Jou- 
rnal*. The climate of Honolulu, like other parts, is 
mild throughout the year and without the tropical 
heat which one would expect from its location. 
There is little difference between its summer and 
winter months. The warmest days in summer do 
not exceed the warmest days in winter by eight 
degrees. Daring a period of twelve years the high- 
est point touched by the thermometer was ninety 
degrees Fahr., the lowest fifty -three degrees. The 
hottest mean day was seventy-five degrees, and the 
coldest mean day, fifty-five. The rain-fall averages 
about forty-one inches. Consumptives can live in 
Honolulu all the year. They generally remain, how- 
ever, only during the interval between October and 
May. Invalids who suffer much from depression of 
spirits, or avIio do not observe a change for the bet- 
ter within two or three weeks, had better try some 
other atmosphere. They may either leave the islands 
altogether, or go further up towards the mountains 
where the air is cooler and more bracing. Consump- 



148 WINTER HOMES FOK INVALIDS. 

tives who are far advanced in the disease must not 
take up a residence in Honolulu. The means of com- 
munication with other parts are so limited that the 
patient feels cut off from all home connection, and 
as a consequence becomes depressed and receives 
little benefit from the change. 

There is a large, well-kept hotel in the town, 
managed by the Hawaiian government, where every 
reasonable comfort and accommodation can be had 
at average prices. It is best, however, in all cases to 
obtain if possible a residence in the suburbs. The 
air is clear and pure, and more bracing. A mile 
oi* two from town, in the Nnann valley, are some 
very pleasant villas where good board can be had 
at moderate rates. The general directions regard- 
ing exercise, diet, medicine, etc., given in former 
chapters, is applicable here. 

Maui is the second island of the group. Manna 
Halekeala, the largest volcano in the world, is situ- 
ated on this island. The crater measures ninety-five 
miles in circumference, and is two thousand feet 
deep. 

Lahaina, the principal town, lies on the south- 



HILO. 149 

western side of the island. It is protected, like Ho- 
nolulu, from the violent trade-winds and rain-storms 
by the mountains, and is the only place in the dis- 
trict suited to invalids. The climate is somewhat 
milder than at Honolulu. The thermal variations are 
about the same. During the hottest day of 1873, the 
thermometer registered eighty-six, and on the cold- 
est day fifty-four degrees Fahr. A short distance 
above Lahaina, at an elevation of three thousand 
feet above the level of the sea, the temperature was 
between forty and seventy-six degrees. The yearly 
rain-fall is about thirty-nine inches. The influx of 
foreign visitors to Lahaina is not so great as at Ho- 
nolulu. The home communications are not made as 
regularly ; therefore it is not so desirable as a place 
of residence. 

Hilo, on the Island of Hawaii, is on the side ex- 
posed to the wind and rain. It is two degrees fur- 
ther south than Honolulu. The amount of rain-fall 
has been previously stated at seventeen feet yearly. 
Nevertheless, the town is quite healthy, and a few 
invalids seem to find in its moist atmosphere some- 
thing they need, and come away benefited. Those 



150 WINTER HOMES FOR INVALIDS. 

who need moisture in the air can get it here without 
stint. 

The voyage from San Francisco to Honolulu con- 
sumes fourteen days. Two trips a month are made 
by the elegant steamers of the Pacific Mail Steam- 
ship Company. The accommodations for travellers 
are excellent. From Honolulu, the traveller is car- 
ried to Lahaina by schooner. The trip is made once 
in each week. The voyage to Iiilo is made in the 
same manner. 



BEST ATMOSPHERE FOE CONSUMPTIVES. 151 



CHAPTER XL 

COLD CLLMATES FOE CONSUMPTIVES. 

What class of consumptives require a cold climate — Compara- 
tive effects of a warm and cold atmosphere — Care to be ob- 
served in the selection of suitable cases for treatment in cold 
climate — Danger of living in-doors — Minnesota as a sana- 
tariu n — Exaggerated accounts of its healthfulness — Topo- 
graphy of the State — Variations of temperature at different 
seasons — Bain-fall — Mortality among consumptives — Ratio of 
recoveries — St. Paul — St. Anthony — Minneapolis — Winona — 
Wabasha — Red Wing — Hutchinson — Ramapo Valley. 

The first requirement of a consumptive patient 
is a residence in a dry equable climate. And if this 
can be obtained in connection with a warm atmos- 
phere, which will enable the patient to spend much 
of his time in the open air, take exercise and enjoy 
the bright sunshine, nothing more can be desired. 
Such climates suit the majority of persons suffering 
from pulmonary complaints. The warm air soothes 
the sensitive lining membrane of the diseased air- 
passages, relaxes the skin and keeps it in healthy 
action, so that it is enabled to relieve the lungs of 



152 WINTER HOMES FOR INVALIDS. 

part of its work of throwing out of the system the 
products of decay, at the same time diminishing the 
temperature of the body by increasing the perspira- 
tion. With regard to the latter, we are not refer- 
ring to sufferers so far advanced in disease as to be 
weakened by hectic night-sweats. 

There are some few consumptives on whom a 
warm atmosphere exerts a debilitating effect. Such 
persons find no life, no vitality in the air, and lan- 
guor and lassitude, increasing with their stay, soon 
destroy all chance of recovery. For this class a cold 
climate is especially suitable. The cold bracing air, 
containing as it does more oxygen in a given space 
than the lighter and warmer air, gives their luugs 
the food whirfh they need to stay the inroads of the 
disease. But the temperature of the place selected 
must not be so continuously low as to prevent the pa- 
tient from remaining out-of-doors several hours 
during the day. If invalids cannot go out they 
lose all the benefit of the stimulating air. It is, 
therefore, of considerable importance that the 
residence selected shall not be so cold as to pre- 
vent out-door exercise. The consumptives who im- 



EFFECTS OF A COLD CLIMATE. 153 

prove iii a cold climate are those who feel better on 
cold clear days and uncomfortable on warm ones. 
Usually these persons are of a nervous-sanguine tem- 
perament, easily depressed and as readily excited. 

Only those in the incipient stages of consumption 
should seek a residence in northern regions as a 
means of cure. A certain amount of bodily vigor 
is necessary to allow of out-door exercise with the 
mercury at zero ; then riding, walking, or working in 
the pure bracing air is followed by general stimula- 
tion of the circulation. This tends to remove the 
congestion in or near the tubercular deposits in the 
lungs, increases the appetite, and restores the patient 
to health. There is nothing better than a good cir- 
dilation to diminish or prevent tubercular deposit in 
the lungs. There are several Northern States steadily 
cold in winter, which enjoy a certain repute as 
resorts for consumptives. Among them may be 
mentioned Minnesota, the Adirondack Mountains, 
the mountainous regions of New Hampshire, Hamp- 
ton, Long Island, and Suffern's, in Rockland county, 
New York. Minnesota especially has occupied a 

prominent position in this connection. Her praises 

7* 



15-i WINTEE HOLIES FOR INVALIDS. 

have been long and loudly sunff. Facts have been 
mingled with the fancies of interested' writers, and 
truthful reports of its healthf illness hidden by exag 
gerations to such an extent as to make it somewhat 
difficult to sift the elements of truth from the mass 
of error. For instance, in that wonderful climate 
we read of robust individuals with only one lung, 
doing the work of a man with two, and looking fully 
as well, and of. persons in the last stages of con- 
sumption, with scarcely any lungs at all, completely 
recovering. In order to arrive at correct conclu- 
sions in this matter, let us briefly glance at the topo- 
graphy and climatic peculiarities of this State. 

Minnesota is located at a central point of this con- 
tinent. It is bounded on the north by British 
America, and on the south by Iowa, on the east by 
Lake Superior and \Yisconsin, and on the west is 
the territory of Dakota. The State occupies about 
the same latitude as Maine, extending from 
forty-three decrees to forty-nine degrees north lati- 
tude. Although a comparatively level country, it 
has an elevation above the sea of one thousand feet. 
In the north-western portion, which contains the high- 



CLIMATE OF MINNESOTA. 155 

lands, there is a further rise of four hundred and 
fifty feet. The land is covered with thick forests of 
pine and spruce. The temperature is five or six de- 
grees lower than in other parts of the State. Lower 
down, in the valley of the Red River, is a rich allu- 
vial soil composed of a dark mould. The Mississippi 
Valley region, extending over seven hundred miles 
through the State, is the most productive. It is the 
garden of the State and the part most frequently 
visited by invalids. The central and inland loca- 
tion of Minnesota nrotects it to a ^reat extent from 
the sudden and violent changes of the States on the 
eastern coast. There is very little moisture in the 
air and rain for the same reason. The winters are 
long and exceedingly cold. The average winter 
lasts one hundred and forty days, during which time 
the mean temperature is sixteen degrees below the 
freezing-point of water. This intense and continu- 
ous cold is, however, not uncomfortable. It is 
steadily cold and dry, without diurnal variations of 
importance, and in this respect is relieved of one of 
the disagreeable features of our eastern Atlantic 
climate. The mean spring temperature is forty-five 



156 WINTER HOMES FOE INVALIDS. 

degrees, in autumn it varies from forty-five to 
forty-six degrees. The mean annual temperature 
is about forty-four degrees. In the summer the 
mercury averages seventy degrees — a difference be- 
tween winter and summer of fifty-four degrees. 
This great variation might at first sight seem 
incompatible with an equable climate, but it 
must be remembered that this is a yearly varia- 
tion, and that the diurnal variations are very small. 
The summer heat of Minnesota is as great as it is 
in New Jersey. It is six or seven degrees hotter 
than in ITtica.* The cold in winter and the heat in 
summer is subject to but little variation, and the 
sudden changes, so injurious to persons in delicate 
health, are almost entirely absent. 

The rain-fall amounts to about twenty-five cubic 
inches yearly. In New England it is estimated at 
fifty-three inches. 

It will be seen by the above that the climate of 
Minnesota is extremely cold in winter and warm in 
summer, and that the general condition of the atmos- 

* Bill on Climate of Minnesota. 



CLIMATE OF MINNESOTA. 157 

phere is dry and bracing. All these elements go far 
towards making a healthy climate. The next point 
to be considered is, is it a good winter resort for 
consumptives ? Bill and other writers speak of it 
as being an incomparable sanatarium for those suf- 
fering from pulmonary complaints, and they furnish 
statistics to prove their statements. Figures may 
speak the truth or they may misrepresent, and in 
this case the figures of comparative mortality fur- 
nished by a certain author do mislead. He com- 
pares the mortuary records of States which are noted 
for the prevalence of consumption with his own State, 
and then draws the inference that Minnesota is the 
best residence for a consumptive in the Union. 
Thus, he gives the rate of mortality in Massachusetts 
from consumption as one in two hundred and fifty- 
four ; in New York, one in four hundred and sev- 
enty-three ; in Virginia, one in seven hundred and 
fifty-seven ; and in Minnesota, one in eleven hundred 
and thirty-nine. But he fails to state that in Geor- 
gia the percentage of deaths from consumption is 
not half as great as it is in the latter State. Such 
one-sided reports do harm, because they are apt to 



158 WINTER HOMES FOR INVALIDS. 

cause numbers of invalids, irrespective of case or 
condition, to go to this and other resorts to die. It 
has been estimated that of all those who visit Min- 
nesota with consumption only one in fifteen recover. 
And it is also well known that the St. Paul's Young 
Men's Christian Association is put to great trouble 
and expense in burying unfortunate strangers, who 
arrived there merely to die, induced, possibly, by some 
of the glowing reports previously referred to, to quit 
the comforts of home when utterly unable to do 
without them. The cold, clear air of the State is 
undoubtedly beneficial to certain cases of consump- 
tion. None, however, should attempt the journey 
whose lungs are seriously diseased, or who have not 
the strength to take daily exercise in the open air. 
It is the open-air life after all that does the work of 
curing, and it is therefore little less than suicide for 
invalids to seek a home where they are compelled to 
shut themselves in-doors day after day. 

Having selected a residence suited to the patient's 
taste, the next care should be his clothing and food. 
Extra flannels should be worn. In some cases 
a chamois-leather shirt or vest worn during the 



CLOTHING. 159 

day is needed to afford complete protection to the 
chest. Thick, solid, waterproof boots or moccasins,, 
worn over several pairs of stockings, are necessary 
to keep out the cold and damp. If the feet are kept 
warm and dry, and the chest protected, there is lit- 
tle or no danger of taking cold. While out-of-doors 
in cold weather it is always well to keep the mouth 
closed, and to breathe through the nose. The cold 
air is thus modified before it reaches the bronchial 
tube and air-cells, and is less likely to produce irri- 
tating coughing spells. Large moustaches also afford 
some protection to the air-passages, and their growth 
should be cultivated both in warm and cold climates. 
St. Paul is one of the principal health resorts in 
Minnesota. It is extensively patronized by consump- 
tive invalids. The city was formerly designated by 
the classical title of " Pig's Eye." Early in 1680, 
the first European, Ilennipen, a Franciscan monk, 
halted his band of explorers on the ground now cov- 
ered by St. Paul ; but it received little attention 
from foreigners until the present century. Within 
the past fifteen years its main growth has taken 
place. The city is located on a commanding bluff, 



160 WINTEE HOMES FOE INVALIDS. 

at the head of the navigation on the Mississippi Riv- 
er. It is two thousand and eighty-two miles from 
the mouth of this great estuary, and is one hundred 
feet above the level of the water. Its present site 
was sold in 1839 for thirty dollars by Pierre Pont, 
a French Canadian. The streets are arranged sym- 
metrically, and are lined with elegant private resi- 
dences and stores. As the capital of the County 
and State, and the centre of a vast mercantile trade, 
it is likely to keep on on its rapid and prosperous 
career. Around the city, on three sides, are high 
green hills, on which are many elegant private resi- 
dences. In the summer months the invalid should 
seek a home in the suburbs, as it is much cooler 
there than in the city. When the cold weather sets 
in, a residence in the city is the best. Excellent 
hotels and equally good boarding-houses are to be 
found everywhere. Within a distance of three or 
four miles from St. Paul are several beautiful lakes, 
much resorted to by sportsmen and invalids during 

the summer. 

« 

Some tourists prefer Minneapolis and its vicinity 
as a temporary residence. The town is the capital 



ST. ANTHONY, WINONA RED WING. 1G1 

-of Hennepin county, and is located on the west 
bank of the Mississippi. It is in a healthy location ; 
the air is dry, cold, and invigorating. It is not pro- 
tected, however, as much as the city of St. Paul, and 
consequently not so desirable for a residence. 

The town of St. Anthony, ten miles from St. Paul, 
is situated near the falls of the same name. It is 
built on a high terrace, close to and overlooking the 
falls. There are good accommodations in boarding- 
houses and hotels for travellers or invalids. 

Winona is a large town, 105 miles below St. 
Paul, located on the bank of the river. It does not 
lie on high ground, but is close to the margin of the 
river. The place has some reputation as a resort 
for invalids. 

Red Wing, higher up, is in a picturesque situation, 
thoroughly sheltered by the hills. It is a good sum- 
mer resort for invalids; and for those who do not 
mind being to a great extent cut off from daily com- 
munication with neighboring States, is a good winter 
residence. 

Sixty miles west of St. Paul there is a charming 
village called Hutchinson, which as yet is not 



162 WINTER HOMES FOR ENTALIDS. 

much visited by invalids, though possessing in an 
eminent degree all the sanitary advantages of a 
health resort in a cold climate. It is in one of the 
healthiest districts in the State. It is located in the 
Hassan Valley, near the Hassan River, and is pro- 
tected by hills which are covered with dense forests 
of spruce, butternut, pine and oak. The village is in- 
creasing rapidly in importance. Much of its pros- 
perity is due to the enterprise of its founders, mem- 
bers of the well-known Hutchinson family. 

The air of the place is dry and bracing. In win- 
ter it is steadily cold, but owing to the protected 
situation of the district it is somewhat warmer than 
other parts of the State. 

It is not generally known that we have in the 
State of New York a sanatarium for invalids 
which is not excelled by any of the health resorts of 
Minnesota. Thirty miles from this city, on the Erie 
Railroad, there is a pleasant village called Suffern's, 
picturesquely situated in the Ramapo Yalley, at the 
base of the Ramapo Mountains. It is protected on 
the north, west and east by the mountains. During 
the winter the air is cold, clear and bracing, and the 



EAMAPO YALLE5T. 163 

thermal variations are sin all. Snow covers the 
ground from ten to twelve weeks in the season. 
The average temperature of winter is about forty 
degrees Owing to its southern exposure and pro- 
tection from the north-easterly winds afforded by 
the mountains, the weather is never unpleasantly 
cold, and invalids who are in the early stages of con- 
sumption, or those suffering from chronic bron- 
chitis, can exercise in the open air nearly every day. 
Miasmatic fevers are unknown in this portion of the 
valley. The view from Union Hill and the moun- 
tains on the north, up and down the valley, is un- 
surpassed. Invalids in this State, who prefer a cold 
climate, will do well to try the neighborhood of 
Suifern's before attempting the long and tedious 
journey to Minnesota. 



164: WINTER HOMES FOR INVALIDS. 



CHAPTER XII. 

HEALTH RESORTS ON THE MEDITERRANEAN. 

The great inland sea — Peculiarities of temperature — Composi- 
tion, tides, etc. — Northern and southern shores — Prevalent 
winds in winter and summer — Eastern and Western Riviera — 
Difference in climate between the two portions — Protection 
afforded by the mountains — The mistral and its effects on 
invalids The sirocco, and its disease-laden breath — Preva- 
lent diseases north and south — Dryness of the atmosphere — 
The Italian sun — Climate of Nice — Sudden thermal varia- 
tions — Unhealthy conditions of old parts of the city — The 
time to visit Nice — Woollen clothing — Food and exercise-- 
Monaco — Mentone — San Eemo — Corsica, etc. 

East of the Apennines and the Maritime Alps 
there are but few safe resting-places for the invalid. 
The cold winds come down from Northern Europe 
and chill the otherwise warm atmosphere. The 
swollen torrents and overfiowino; rivers inundate the 
valley regions during the fall and early part of win- 
ter. When the waters disappear they leave the rich 
decaying vegetation to breed miasmatic poison 
with the help of the Italian sun. Thus there is no 
security for the traveller, be he sick or well, in the 



THE MEDITERRANEAN. 165 

greater part of the Central Valley region. The ex- 
ceptional localities are close to the mountain wall 
which divides Switzerland from Italy, and will be 
referred to hereafter. 

To the westward of the Maritime Alps, on the 
shores of the Mediterranean Sea, there is a brighter, 
milder and more genial atmosphere, a dryer and 
more healthful climate. The Mediterranean is the 
most important inland sea in the world. It is en- 
closed by portions of Europe, Asia, and Africa, and 
is connected with the Atlantic Ocean by the Straits 
of Gibraltar. It is warmer (fifty-four degrees F.), 
of a higher specific gravity, and contains more salt 
than the Atlantic. Its depth near the shore in 
many places is very great ; near Nice it is about five 
thousand feet deep. No sea is so full of historical 
interest. Every wave that breaks against its moun- 
tain-fringed shore, if it could but speak, would tell 
many a weird tale of horror, of days when the 
rest of the world was in its infancy. Its history 
goes back to the misty mythological days when the 
gods condescended to make this earth the scene of 
their loves and hates. The descriptions of the old 



166 WINTER HOMES FOR INVALIDS. 

historians show that the northern shores of the Medi- 
terranean possessed certain peculiarities of soil and 
climate which made them famous for their produc- 
tiveness and healthfulness. And to this day these 
essential features are unchanged. 

The prevailing winds of this region, from May 
until February, " blow from the west around north- 
wards to north-east." * In February, March and 
April south-west winds prevail. According to some 
observers the prevailing wind in winter is from the 
north. The south-east wind, or sirocco, travels 
from the African deserts, and reaches the southern 
shores of Italy still hot and loaded with the moisture 
which it lias collected from the Mediterranean, 
breeding in that region pernicious fevers, and in- 
creasing the fatality of ordinary complaints. The 
northern shores are happily free from this pest. 
Enough of its heat and moisture is stolen by the 
south of Italy and the mountains of Corsica f to 
make it cool and pleasant by the time it strikes the 
Riviera. This is the region to which we have to 

* Smyth. f Dr. Henry Bennet. 



PECULIAKITIES OF CLIMATE. 167 

give special consideration. The Riviera or coast- 
line from Nice to Genoa is divided into two por- 
tions, viz., the Eastern or Riviera de Levante, 
and the Western or Riviera di Ponente. Western 
Riviera is considered the healthiest, although 
the whole of this region possesses a remarkably fine 
climate. The cold north-east winds are turned 
aside by the Maritime Alps, which extend from 
Nice to Genoa. Thus thoroughly sheltered, occupy- 
ing a comparatively dry portion of the earth's surface, 
and open to the warm but stimulating south-west 
breezes of the Mediterranean, it has all the re- 
quisites of a healthy climate. The sun shines 
during the winter months with tropical warmth, but 
as the cool dry air favors evaporation from the sur- 
face, and as the air is constantly in motion, there is 
no oppressiveness, no debilitating influence from its 
rays. It is always cool in the shade and at night ; in 
many places it is so cold that extra clothing is re- 
quired. Close to the sea, it may be said to be 
always cool when the air is in motion. Malarial 
fevers are exceedingly rare in the villages and 
country districts along the coast. Intestinal dis- 



1G8 WINTER HOMES FOR INVALIDS. 

orders prevail among strangers who come too early 
in the fall, or who indulge too freely in wine and 
fruit. It is the common experience of visitors 
who are not extremely careful. The piercing mis- 
tral, or north-east wind, is much dreaded in the fall 
and sometimes in the winter months. It hlows from 
one to four days furiously, changing the bright warm 
sunshiny days to the raw, cold and damp days of a 
Kew York March. Strangers who happen to arrive 
during the prevalence of the mistral lose faith in 
the tales they have read and heard of the beautiful 
southern climate ; they are ajDt to consider it a phan- 
tasy and a dream. But if they can only develop 
sufficient patience to remain until the " blow is 
over," the bright warm sun will reassure them. 

Kice, one of the most important resorts on the 
south coast of France, is peculiarly liable to attacks 
from the mistral. They occur generally in the 
fall, and are dreaded by every invalid visitor. This 
city dates back to the fifth century before Christ. 
It is in about the same latitude as Portland, Maine. 
The city is built on both sides of the River Paglion, 
and lies between the mountains and the sea. The 



CLIMATE OF NICE. 169 

mountains are on its north side and curve somewhat 
towards the shore on its east and west sides. The 
city is divided into two portions, the old and the new. 
Visitors take up their abode, in the latter quarter, 
which is handsomely laid out and has wide streets 
lined by fine buildings. Nearly all parts of the old 
town partake of the srjecial features of old. badly-built 
towns in general, having the same amount of putrid 
odors in the atmosphere, and filth in the streets. It 
is decidedly unhealthy. These evils, however, work 
their own cure sometimes, either by developing 
epidemic diseases, or touching the pockets of house- 
holders by repelling visitors from their doors. In 
many respects the climate of Nice is a desirable one 
for a certain class of invalids. Pulmonary con- 
sumption, either of the inflammatory or tubercular 
variety in its first stages, is often completely cured 
by a winter's residence there. Bronchitis, chronic 
inflammations of the larynx, and catarrh of the nasal 
passages are also benefited by the genial climate. 
However, the invalid must not expect to have all sun- 
shine. Rainy and stormy da} T s occur which are de- 
cidedly harmful. A patient of ours, who resided 



170 WINTER HOMES FOR INVALIDS. 

six months in Xice, informs us that on account 
of the cold winds, it is customary for invalids to re- 
main in-doors after four o'clock in the afternoon. 
The night air is not good, being often cold and raw, 
and it is not unusual for the thermometer to mark a 
change of twenty degrees between the temperature 
of the day and night, and the ordinary difference be- 
tween the day and night through the winter is fifteen 
degrees. The highest temperature in July and Au- 
gust, for fifteen years, was eighty-eight and a half ; 
the lowest temperature was twenty-seven and a half 
F. The mean temperature for the same period was 
sixty and a half. The mean temperature of the 
month of January, IS 72, was forty -seven degrees, 
while in February it was forty-six degrees. In 
July of the same year the mean temperature 
was seventy-five degrees. In December and Jan- 
uary the temperature of the day varies between 
fifty-five and sixty-five degrees F. There are sixty 
rainy days in the year at Nice, but the yearly amount 
of rain-fall rarely exceeds thirty inches. Only a 
part of each of the days mentioned is wet, The 
rain falls for an hour or two and then the sun comes 



CLIMATE OF NICE. 171 

out as bright as ever and in a short time removes 
the moisture from the ground. 

Patients intending to visit Nice should not go 
there before the middle of November. They will 
thus avoid the fall mistral and fall rains. Woollen 
clothing must be worn all winter, and at night a 
considerable amount of extra clothing is needed. 
Those with pulmonary complaints will do well to 
remain in-doors after sun-down in order to avoid 
the danger of catching cold. Exercise in the open 
air may be commenced about ten o'clock in the 
morning by weak invalids, others may commence 
earlier. Too much exertion at first must be avoided ; 
in fact excess in eating, drinking, and in every good 
thing must be persistently avoided. 

Although Nice is a suitable winter residence for 
some people, there are other places on the Riviera 
more suitable for consumptives and the weaker class 
of invalids. These will be described further on. 

In the selection of rooms either in a boarding- 
house or hotel, the south side of the building in all 
cases is to be preferred. Rooms on the north side 
of the house are usually five or six degrees cooler, 



172 WINTER nOMES FOR INVALIDS. 

and in winter it is sometimes necessary to have 
them heated artificially. 

The lilipntian empire of Monaco — the smallest 
principality in the world — is the only resort of im- 
portance between Nice and Mentone. Lately its 
inhabitants rose in rebellion against its hereditary 
prince, for some curtailment of their rights, and 
drove him out of the country. But he has since 
returned and once more wields the sceptre. The 
town of Monaco dates its existence from the fourth 
century. It is said to derive its name from a 
pagan priest named Monacchus, who was placed in 
charge of a temple which had been built in com- 
memoration of a great victory over the Ligurians. 
The remains of the temple are yet pointed out. 
The climate is similar to that of Nice. There are 
good facilities for bathing or boating ; one of the 
principal attractions, however, is the gambling hell, 
which is patronized by people of all nations. Dur- 
ing the winter the hotels and boarding-houses are 
filled by permanent as well as transient visitors. 

Mentone, a small town of five thousand inhabi- 
tants, situated on a beautiful sheltered bay, fifteen 



CLIMATE OF MENTONE. 173 

miles from Nice, is probably the best place on the 
Riviera for a winter's residence. Two mountain 
ranges curve around it, leaving an opening to the 
south. Ample protection from the cold north- east 
and northerly winds is thus afforded. The mountain 
Turbia, which separates,, Nice from Mentone, pro- 
tects the latter from the fierce mistral. These moun- 
tains are made up mainly of stratified limestone. 
This rock becomes gradually disintegrated and 
mixed with the decayed animal and vegetable 
matter, producing a very fertile soil. Lemon, 
olive and orange groves cover the mountain slopes. 
The lemon under the glowing Italian sun produces 
four crops yearly — its productiveness only ceasing 
with its death. On the higher ridges of the moun- 
tains pines grow in abundance. Flowers of every 
description bloom throughout the year. The rainy 
season occurs during the spring and fall months. 
The number of rainy days in the year is about 
eighty. These include every day upon which a 
shower occurred. But the yearly rain-fall rarely ex- 
ceeds twenty-eight inches. In the summer-time 
rainy days are exceedingly few. Notwithstanding 



174 WINTEB HOLIES FOE INVALIDS. 

the fact that the wet weather occurs between Octo- 
ber and May, the prevailing feature of the atmos- 
phere at Men tone is dryness,* except when the 
south-west wind is blowing. The absence of mois- 
ture in the- air is indicated by the deep blue of the 
sky as well as by the hygrometer. In winter the 
sea breezes spring up after ten in the morning, and 
they continue until four in the afternoon. The 
prevailing winds of winter are northerly. From 
meteorological records we find that the maximum 
mean temperature of the winter months, for a 
period of ten years, was fifty-eight degrees, and the 
minimum mean forty-five degrees. The lowest 
temperature reached during the same period was 
thirty-two degrees, the highest sixty-five degrees F. 
In August of the same year the mercury reached 
eighty-nine degrees, an unusual degree of heat for 
Meutone. At night there is a change of at least 
ten or twelve degrees from the temperature of the 
day. Frosts sometimes occur. Taking the general 
features of the climate at Men tone, it can be readily 
seen that it is well suited to invalids with incipient 
* Dr. Henrv Bennet's i- Climate of the Mediterranean." 



PREVALENT DISEASES. 175 

consumption and other affections of the pulmonary 
organs. And the experience of Dr. Bennet and 
many others adds corroborative evidence to the 
favorable meteorological records. 

The best part of the year to spend at Mentone is 
between the latter part of November and March. 
Earlier or later than these periods, there are disa- 
greeable objects to encounter in the shape of gnats 
and mosquitoes, and extremely unpleasant, change- 
able weather. December, January and February 
are generally comfortably warm and pleasant. In- 
valids should exercise the same precautions in the 
selection of a residence here that they do elsewhere. 
Woollen clothine: is essential all winter : light flan- 
nels must be worn constantly. 

Mentone and its neighborhood is entirely free from 
miasmatic diseases. Remittent and intermittent fe- 
vers are only seen when brought there by strangers. 
The climate seems to agree with visitors better than 
it does with those born and brought up in the town. 
Diseases of the air-passages, such as bronchitis, 
pneumonia, and consumption, are of frequent oc- 
currence among the lower classes. 



176 WINTEE HOMES FOK INVALIDS. 

San Remo, fifteen miles from Men tone, is another 
winter resort of growing repute. The town, which 
is old and not too clean, contains about eleven thou- 
sand inhabitants. The suburbs are more suitable 
for invalids than the town. The thermal variations 
are about the same as at Mentone. 

Dr. Henry Bennet, of Mentone, who has made a 
life study of the climates on the Mediterranean, at- 
taches some importance to certain portions of the 
Island of Corsica, as resorts for consumptive inva- 
lids during the winter months. This famous island 
extends from forty-one degrees to forty-three de- 
grees north latitude. It is one hundred and twenty 
miles Ion ff and fortv-five wide. Its eastern coast 
is fifty miles from the Italian shores — the coast erf 
France on the north is ninety miles distant. The 
island is mountainous in character. Two grand 
ranges run from north to south, occupying the cen- 
tral portions and extending in many places their 
rocky arms out on each side down to the sea. The 
eastern ranp-e of mountains is of calcareous forma- 
tion. The western is made up principally of gran- 
ite. This peculiarity of structure has considerable 



CLIMATE OF CORSICA. 177 

influence on the character of the soil and climate 
on the two sides of the island. The disintegration 
of calcareous rock, caused by the constant washing 
of the mountain streams for centuries past, has 
carried large quantities of the debris of these rocks, 
mixed with decayed animal and vegetable matter, 
to the coast. The constantly accumulating mass 
gradually dammed up many of the streams and 
formed large pools and lakes, which continually 
overflow. Along this region the soil is damp, the 
vegetation very rich, and under a hot Mediterranean 
sun miasmatic poisons are developed which make 
the east side an unpleasant dwelling-place. There 
is scarcely a spot which can be deemed healthy. 
The western coast is noted for its healthfulness. 
The granite rocks, slow to crumble, afford no such 
material to obstruct the watercourses. All the 
mountain streams have free access to the sea. 
Along the coast the soil is rich, but little miasm is 
developed. Some pleasant villages nestle in among 
picturesque nooks on these western slopes. Mag- 
nificent forests of the chestnut, pine, and oak cover 

the mountain sides. Olives, lemons, and oranges 
8* 



178 WINTER HOMES FOE INVALIDS. 

grow in rich profusion. Cereals are also produced 
in large quantities. 

The principal town of the west side is Ajaccio, 
the birthplace of Napoleon the First, It is thor- 
oughly sheltered by the mountains, and its climate 
is exceedingly equable and mild during the winter 
months. Even in summer it is not too warm. The 
air contains more moisture than it does at Mentone 
and other places on the Riviera. In winter the wea- 
ther is five or six degrees warmer than at Xice. In 
January the mercury varies from fifty-five to sixty 
degrees during the day, and from forty to forty-four 
at night. In August the mean temperature is sev- 
enty-eight degrees. The yearly mean temperature 
is sixty-three degrees. At night it is much warmer 
than at Mentone. The rain-fall in twelve months is 
about twenty-five inches. 

The best months to visit Corsica are December, 
January, and February. Malarial fevers need not 
then be dreaded. 

About two thousand feet above the level of the 
sea, in a sheltered spot in the mountains, is a health 
resort named Orezza. The principal attractions are 



OKEZZA. 179 

the mineral springs, the waters of which are much 
used throughout Europe. Some of the springs have 
a tonic action — others are alterative. Taken in com- 
bination with the invigorating air of the place, they 
produce good results. 



180 WINTEB HOMES FOE INVALIDS. 



CHAPTEB XIII. 

THE MEDITERRANEAN (cOWTmUED.) 

Southern shores — Varieties of climate — Moisture in the atmos- 
phere — Misnamed health resorts — Malarial disorders— Ther- 
mal variations — Sudden changes in temperature — The siroc- 
co— Rain-fall — Location of Pisa — Sot the place for invalids at 
any season of the year — Naples— Difference in climate of east 
and west side — Sicily — Its physical geography and climate — 
Principal towns — Products of the soil — Malaga — Algiers — Ali- 
cante. 

The southern snore of the Jlediterranean is much 
inferior to the northern coast as a health resort ; in 
fact it is decidedlv unhealthy nine months in the 
year. It is true there are one or two places where 
the peculiarly moist climate seems to suit certain in- 
valids ; but the majority of sick travellers will do 
well to remain in the north. In the latter part of 
December, January, and a portion of February, it is 
comparatively free from fevers, and the weather is 
warm and agreeable. A residence during these 
months in some of the coast towns is sometimes of 



MORTALITY FORM ROMAN FEVER. 181 

benefit to persons suffering from Bright's disease of 
the kidneys, and chronic pulmonary complaints of 
an irritating nature. Nevertheless we would not 
recommend an invalid to visit any of the towns in 
the south of Italy. The benefits are not commensu- 
rate with the risk. Inflammations of the intestinal 
canal, and malarial fevers of a malignant type, carry 
off a great many unfortunate strangers. Much of 
the sickness is, no doubt, due to irregularities and 
excesses in eating, drinking, and sight-seeing. The 
utter disregard of every hygienic rule, displayed by 
American travellers, no doubt invites disease ; but 
yet this will not account for the fact that a greater 
number of travellers die in Italy than in any other 
part of Europe. A list of those who annually die 
from what is usually known as Roman fever would 
startle people as well as convince them that there 
are more suitable dwelling-places for the sick than 
the south of Italy. In a visit we made in the winter 
of 1872, we became firmly convinced of the uu- 
healthiness of a southern Italian climate. The whole 
valley region between Bologna and Rome was under 
water for several weeks. To reach Florence from 



182 WINTER HOMES FOE INVALIDS. 

Pistoria, a distance of twent}^ miles, we were com- 
pelled to go round by way of Pisa, because the roads 
were destroyed by the floods. For nearly ten weeks 
the ground for hundreds of miles was covered with 
water; and this was not an unusual occurrence. 
The year before, a similar inundation had taken 
place. In 1873 a partial flooding of the same region 
was followed by a large increase in the mortality 
from malarial diseases. Even under the most favor- 
able conditions the rich vegetation of this fertile and 
extensive plain develops miasm. This miasm is in- 
creased tenfold by the flood and the consequent de- 
cay of rank vegetable matter. 

Sicily, and some of the towns on the coast of 
Spain, are not afflicted to the same degree with low 
types of fever. They are, however, far behind the 
Riviera in point of healthfulness. Pisa is highly 
spoken of by Madden and others as a winter resi- 
dence for persons with pulmonary complaints, at- 
tended with much irritation of the mucous lin- 
ing of the air-passages. They say the atmosphere 
has strong sedative qualities, which cannot but 
be beneficial to the class of invalids mentioned. 



CLIMATE OF NAPLES. 183 

nothing, however, either in its location, which is low, 
or in its atmosphere, which could be distorted into 
anything conducive to health. The town is built on 
both sides of the muddy Arno ; flat, marshy tracts lie 
between it and the sea, and the breezes coming over 
these tracts, loaded with moisture and miasm, are 
decidedly injurious. 

Naples is also erroneously considered a good whi- 
ter home for consumptive invalids. • Perhaps for 
about two months in the year the climate is suffi- 
ciently free from zymotic poison to enable a stranger 
to get some benefit from its warm sky. A visit in 
the latter part of December and January is said to 
he always safe. The city is built on the margin of 
a beautiful bay. On the western side, which is not 
sheltered, it is often cold and disagreeable. The 
east side is warmed by the southerly winds, and is 
better suited for invalids. The mean annual tem- 
perature is sixty-two degrees. In winter the mean 
temperature is forty-eight degrees, and in summer 
it is seventy. South-west winds bring gales and 
cloudv weather. The south, wind, or sirocco, brings 
a " furnace blast," and stirs up the latent disease 



184 WINTER HOMES FOE INVALIDS. 

We saw germs in the atmosphere. A clear sky 
and mild, balmy days always accompany an east 
wind. 

The sudden changes which occur in the climate 
of Naples show their evil effects among the native 
population, by developing numerous cases of pneu- 
monia and pleurisy. The following extract from 
the diary of an invalid affords a good illustration of 
the special evils of the Neapolitan climate : * 

" Feb. 18. Oh, this land of zephyrs ! Yesterday 
it was as warm as July, to-day we are shivering 
with a black easterly wind, and an English black 
frost. I find we are come to Naples too soon. It 
would have been quite time enough three months 
hence. Naples is one of the worst climates in Eu- 
rope for complaints of the chest, and the winter is 
much colder here than in Rome, notwithstanding 
the latitude. Whatever we may think of the sea- 
air in England, the effect is very different here. 
The sea-breeze in December is mild and soft ; here 
it is keen and piercing, and as it sets in regularly at 

* Madden on Climate. 



CLIMATE OF SICILY. 185 

noon j I doubt whether Naples can be oppressively 
hot, even in summer. 

"Feb. 14. JEgri somnia — if a man be tired of the 
slow, lingering progress of consumption, let him re- 
pair to Naples and the denouement will be much 
more rapid." 

The Island of Sicily affords some places which 
are warm and salubrious in the winter months. 
Many cases of Bright's disease of the kidneys, 
bronchitis, and asthma find great relief in this 
climate. 

Sicily is the largest island of the Mediterranean, 
and has a history as ancient as any in the world. 
It extends from thirty-six degrees to thirty-eight 
degrees north latitude. Originally forming part 
of the mainland, and separated from it by some 
great convulsion, it presents the same physical and 
geological conformation. A ringed chain of niouii- 
tains occupies the centre and some portions of the 
coast. Etna, one of the largest volcanic mountains 
in the world, is on this island and directly oppo- 
site Mount Vesuvius. It is supposed that those 
volcanoes communicate by subterranean passages. 



186 WINTER HOMES FOE INVALIDS. 

The climatic changes are somewhat similar to those 
in Southern Italy. The mean annual temperature is 
sixty-two degrees. The lowest point reached bj the 
mercury is thirty-two, and the highest, when the 
sirocco or south-east wind blows in full force, is 
ninety-five degrees. There are one hundred and 
thirty rainy days in the year, but the annual rain- 
fall is only twenty-five inches. Cicero said of the 
climate : " There is no day in the year when the sun 
is not visible at one time or another." Northerly 
and westerly winds prevail most of the year. The 
sirocco on its occasional visits makes every one un- 
comfortable by the intense heat which accompanies 
it, and the clouds -of fine dust filled with animalculse 
which it forces through everything. The sirocco 
makes a change in the temperature of twenty-five or 
thirty degrees. The climate might be characterized 
as moist, warm and sedative in its effects, and 
likel} T to exert a good effect on that class of inva- 
lids who breathe better in such an atmosphere. 
Palermo is the favorite resort on the island for 
invalids. 

Consumptives who wish to find an exceedingly 



CLIMATE OF MALAGA. 187 

dry winter climate will be suited at Malaga. This 
is a large seaport town on the south-east coast of 
Spain. It is two hundred and fifty miles south of 
Kaples and ninety miles from the African coast. 
Although possessing the dry est climate on our list 
with the exception of Egypt, it has its disadvan- 
tages. There are two winds which are the dread of 
all invalids, viz. the levanter or east wind, and the 
terral or north-west wind. In summer the former 
gives a pleasant coolness to the atmosphere, but in 
the winter it is excessively cold and accompanied by 
rain, and does infinite damage to weak and irrita- 
ble invalids. The terral is hot in summer, but very 
cold in winter, and it carries with it clouds of fine 
sand which produces great irritation of the cutane- 
ous surface. The prevailing winds are northerly. 
January is the coldest and February the hottest 
month in the year. Diseases are more fatal in Jan- 
uary than in any other month. Consumption is not 
uncommon among the native population of Malaga. 
Deaths occur annually from that disease in the pro- 
portion of thirty-four in one thousand. Many cases 
of pleurisy and pneumonia occur when the terral 



188 WINTER HOMES FOE INVALIDS. 

has ceased blowing. Strangers are sometimes af- 
flicted with a peculiar inflammatory affection of the 
gums, said to arise from the acid wine of the coun- 
try. It commences with a purplish swelling at the 
margin of the gums, which is soon followed by ulcer- 
ation. The disease is easily cured. 

During December, January, and February the 
thermometer in the shade ranges from sixty to sixty- 
four degrees, and from eighty-five to ninety in the 
summer. The mean temperature of January is fifty- 
• eight degrees F. ; mean annual temperature is sixty- 
five degrees, four degrees lower than in Jackson- 
ville, Florida. There are forty-five days less rain 
at Malaga than at Mce, there being but twenty- 
nine in the former place; still there is this draw- 
back, that the rainy season is confined to a short 
interval of a few w T eeks, while in other resorts 
it spreads over several months, a small quantity 
falling each day. Fires are necessary nearly every 
afternoon in the winter; and in the north rooms 
of the hotels, which are some ten degrees colder 
than the rooms with a southern exposure, they 
should be kept up all day. When either the terral 



CLIMATE OF ALGIERS. 189 

or levanter is blowing, invalids should stay in-doors 
and keep warm. 

Malaga is reached either by steamer from Naples 
or Gibraltar, or by sail from Madrid. 

Ninety miles from Malaga, in a south-easterly 
direction, in Algeria, we have a climate which in 
many respects is in marked contrast to that of 
the former place. Malaga, as before stated, has 
an intensely dry atmosphere most of the year. In 
Algiers it is almost as constantly moist. The year- 
ly rain-fall reaches as high as sixty-seven inches 
The amount which falls in the winter months 
alone varies from thirty-six to forty inches. There 
are but two seasons in Algeria, viz., the winter 
and summer season ; nearly all the rainy weather 
is in the winter. North-west and north-east winds 
prevail in the cold months. The mean annual tem- 
perature is sixty-four degrees F. In the month 
of January the temperature varies between forty- 
five and fifty-three degrees. The summer months 
are intensely hot ; ninety-eight in the shade not 
being an unusual thing. 

The climate of Algiers is essentially a moist 



190 WINTER HOMES FOR INVALIDS. 

one ; only those who improve in a moist atmosphere 
should go there. A winter residence, from Novem- 
ber until the middle of February, is of benefit in 
many forms of consumption, chronic bronchitis, and 
Bright's disease. 



ITALIAN STORMS. 191 



CHAPTER XIV. 

CLIMATES OF FLORENCE AND ROME. 

Florence in a hail -storm — Peculiarities of the prevalent winds 
— Sunshine — Sudden changes — Location of the city — Mala- 
rial fevers — Enteritis — Mean temperature of winter and 
summer months — Climate not suited for consumptive in- 
valids — Rome — Roman fever — Effects of sight-seeing — Mor- 
tality among Americans — Safest time of the year to reside in 
Rome. 

It is not pleasant to arrive at your destination in a 
storm. And if yon have been looking and longing 
for weeks, for blue skies and bright sunshine at the 
time when they ought to exist, and only get rain and 
hail-storms, and occasional glimpses of the sun 
through the windows of an Italian hotel or railway 
carriage, you would probably feel disgusted with the 
climate, with yourself and everybody who had 
ever spoken or written of the sunshine and bright 
skies of Italy. Stum was our experience in the win- 
ter of 1872. We had been three weeks in Italy 
waiting for the rain to cease, for the floods to dry up. 



192 WINTER HOMES FOE INVALIDS. 

for the country to look something better than a vast 
swamp, when we started for Florence. At Pistoja 
the train came to a final stop on account of the 
broken bridges and mountain torrents, and we were 
forced to go around by way of Pisa, nearly one 
hundred miles out of the direct course of travel, to 
reach Florence. When the train arrived in the lat- 
ter city, the rain which had accompanied us in all 
our sojournings changed to hail. The storm was 
terrific, and the cold penetrating, although the ther- 
mometer at the hotel only marked forty degrees F. 
Of course such an experience is not calculated to give 
one very high views of the health-giving properties 
of the climate. It is apt to develop one-sided criti- 
cism. But we have examined the subject carefully, 
looked into the health reports, weather reports, and 
mortuary records, have elicited the experience of 
other travellers sick and well, and the results destroy 
the reputation for healthfulness of a Florentine at- 
mosphere. And were it not for the fact that there 
seems to be a general impression among Americans 
that Florence is a delightful winter residence, we 
would not have mentioned it, and only do so now to 



CLIMATE OF FLORENCE. 193 

point out its eminent disadvantages as a home for 
invalids. 

The city occupies the Valley of the Arno, in lati- 
tude forty -three degrees north. It is built on both 
sides of the river Arno, a narrow muddy stream, 
which scarcely deserves the name of river. When 
the tide is low the odor arising from its shores are 
anything but agreeable, or conducive to health. 
The Apennines rise up on the north, south, and 
west, but give little shelter to the valley. In the 
winter season the cold northern winds coming over 
the snow-capped mountains sweep through the valley, 
and suddenly change a warm sunshiny day to a dis- 
agreeably cold one. This cold wind is very penetra- 
ting. It has that peculiar coldness which all winds 
have that blow over snowy regions. The natural 
warmth of the atmosphere in the valley also makes 
this wind more disagreeable and injurious than it 
would otherwise be. You may go out in the morn- 
ing and find the sky clear, and the sun bright and 
warm. Before noon these winds may blow down on 
the city, changing the atmosphere at once from the 
warmth of May to the coldness of February or 



194 WINTER HOMES FOR INVALIDS. 

March. These sudden changes characterize the cli- 
mate of Florence in winter- time. Every invalid 
who through necessity or choice is compelled to re- 
side in Florence in winter, dreads the north wind. 
They cannot go out-of-doors while it lasts, ana it is 
even as uncomfortable in-doors unless the house is 
artificially warmed. The old palaces where so many 
visitors reside are exceedingly cheerless. Their 
thick stone walls and small deep-set windows do 
not let in enough warmth or sunshine to dispel the 
gloom within. 

Bronchial and intestinal troubles are quite com- 
mon in Florence amono- strangers. The sudden 
changes in the weather referred to are generally the 
cause of these disorders. Some cases, however, may 
he referred to the senseless maimer in which the 
majority of travellers do their sight-seeing. From 
morning till night they keep up an incessant round 
of visits from churches to picture galleries, and down 
in damp excavations among antediluvian ruins until 
nature gives way under the unaccustomed strain. 
Many a fine constitution has succumbed to the un- 
controllable restlessness and anxiety to see and ex- 



CLIMATE OF FLORENCE. 195 

amine at once the accumulated art treasures of 
centuries. Malarial diseases are not common in 
Florence. A few who contract Roman fever in the 
south of Italy come to Florence to be nursed and 
treated before the disease has fully developed. 

From meteorological records we learn that the 
mean temperature of October for a period of ten 
years was fifty- nine degrees; of November, forty- 
nine degrees ; January, forty-one degrees F. The 
hottest month in summer is July, and the average 
mean of that month is seventy-six degrees : on the 
coldest day in January the mercury stood at twenty- 
nine degrees. The average rain-fall is thirtv-five 
inches. Experienced travellers say that the best 
months for delicate persons to reside in Florence are 
October, May, and June. We would advise invalids 
to avoid the city at all times. 

Our personal investigations into the climatic 
peculiarities of Rome were attended by the same 
unfavorable results. Although in the month of 
November, when the rainy season was supposed to 
be terminated, the city was drenched daily by fierce 
rain-storms, and the waters of the Tiber overflowed 



196 WINTER HOMES FOR INVALIDS. 

the lands and covered the streets in the lower portions 
of the city. The thermometer ranged from forty- 
five to fifty degrees, but it felt much colder, espe- 
cially when the wind came from the north. The 
mean temperature for November during a period of 
twelve years was fifty-four degrees ; of January, 
forty-six degrees ; and the yearly rain-fall is said to 
average thirty-nine inches. The climate in Rome, 
in December, January, and early part of February, 
is more equable than in either Naples or Florence. 
There are fewer sudden changes. Pulmonarv coin- 
plants are often benefited during the period men- 
tioned. But the atmosphere in the modern city and 
the suburbs, towards the Campagna, is loaded at 
certain seasons with the most deadly miasm. Even 
in the winter, when there is a comparative im- 
munity from the poison, malarial fevers are contin- 
ually occurring. The Pontine marshes, which 
occupy the southern part of the Campagna de 
Roma, are the source of the miasm. The marshy 
district was originally about thirty miles long, and 
varied from four to eleven miles in breadth. It is 
separated from the sea-coast by a belt of trees. 



HOW MIASM IS GENERATED. 197 

Part of this region has been reclaimed, and drained 
at the expense of thousands of lives, but the remain- 
der still generates the deadly mephitic vapors 
which make it dreaded by all. Those who inhabit 
the tillable portions only reside in their homes dur- 
ing the winter. In the summer they leave and 
seek the protection of the mountains. Although 
marshes which contain large quantities of decaying 
vegetable matters are the most prolific generators 
of miasmatic poison, there are other varieties of 
soil where it is often produced. It is found in dry 
sandy soil where the subsoil is composed of clay 
which prevents the water from being absorbed or 
drained away. Of course to produce miasm a certain 
amount of organic matter is necessary in connection 
with this kind of soil, but it is generally present. 
Where granite or trap rock is crumbling and disin- 
tegrating, or where the soil is formed of the debris 
of these rocks with a small proportion of organic 
matter, miasm is developed. Unless this variety of 
soil is disturbed, however, by excavations, the mala- 
ria it contains does no injury. As soon as building 
commences, remittent and intermittent fevers pre- 



198 WINTER HOMES FOR INVALIDS. 

vail extensively in their vicinity. Dr. W. C. Mac- 
lean, in an article on miasmatic fevers, mentions the 
sudden outburst of these fevers in Hong Kong im- 
mediately following extensive excavations. The soil 
of this island is composed of decaying granite, in 
which, in connection with the water it absorbs, a fun- 
gous growth is developed. Fredal regards this fungus 
as bearing intimate relations to malaria, either itself 
being the cause of the fevers or at least assisting in 
forming the poison. Mephitic vapor varies so much 
in character in different localities, that its composi- 
tion is not well understood. It is said to contain 
carburetted, phosphuretted, and sulphuretted hydro- 
gen, and the debris of plants and insects. Dr. Sals- 
bury discovered in it a cryptogamic parasite, 
which he believes to be the direct cause of malarial 
fevers. He caught some of the parasites on a glass, 
carried them to an elevated position, where malaria 
was unknown, and allowed a student to inhale the 
cryptogams ; the result was a well-marked case of 
intermittent fever. The malignity of remittent and 
intermittent fevers of Southern Italy arises from the 
fact that the marshy districts cover a large area of 



HOW MIASM IS GENERATED. 199 

country, and under the heat of an Italian sun 
throw out their poisonous germs in great abun- 
dance. The pernicious form of malarial fever 
commonly known as Horn an fever is probably the 
most fatal form of miasmatic disease. In Rome and 
other portions of Southern Italy, it carries off large 
numbers of the transient population, whether 
Italians or foreigners. Victor Emanuel's legislature, 
which holds its sessions in Rome, loses a number of 
its members every year from this disease, Among 
foreigners, however, it displays extraordinary viru- 
lence. The number of Americans who die in Rome 
and other parts of Italy from Roman fever is very 
great. Few have any conception of the extent of 
the mortality among strangers of all classes from this 
disease. As before remarked, the months of great- 
est freedom from malaria are December, January, 
and February. Even within this period the greatest 
care is required in eating, drinking, bathing and 
exercising. Until the stranger becomes acclimated 
he should observe his usual home custom in the 
number of his meals and their preparation, avoid- 
ing the light Roman breakfast of roll and coffee, 



200 WINTER HOMES FOR INVALIDS. 

and the late and heavy dinner. Walking and 
ridinsr are good if not continued until the blood is 
overheated. In visiting the churches and other ob- 
jects of interest, an extra shawl or cloak should be 
carried and worn when inside to keep out the cold 
air which is found in many of them. Passing from 
a warm light atmosphere into the damp chilly 
air of these places has planted the seeds of serious 
disease in many a careless traveller. All the sight- 
seeing and visiting should be done in daylight hours. 
After dark there is great danger in travelling about, 
as the night breezes often blow in from the Cam- 
pagna, loaded with mephitic vapors in the neighbor- 
hood. 

"With regard to the selection of a residence, the 
same general rules given elsewhere are necessary. 
The healthiest places in Rome, are near the Esqui- 
line and on the Yia Condotti. Private lodgings 
may be had in these localities, which are as com- 
fortable as one can expect who has been accus- 
tomed to the modern luxuries of a New York 
home. 



LOCATION OF THE LAKES. 201 



CHAPTER XV. 

THE ITALIAN LAKES. 

Lake scenery — Peculiarities of lakes on Italian side of the moun- 
tains — Variations of climate on opposite sides of lakes — ■ 
Protection from storms by the mountains — Lake Como 
— Scenery — Health resorts — Bellagio and Lakes Maggiore, 
Lugano, Iseo, and Garda. 

The Italian lakes have not attained to any special 
degree of importance as winter resorts for invalids. 
They are generally visited by tourists in the spring 
and fall months. Nevertheless, they possess a win- 
ter climate better suited to invalids than any other 
part of Italy, with the exception of the Riviera. 
They are protected on the north by the Alpine chain 
of mountains, close to which they lie, and on the east 
by " spurs " from these mountains. Being thus shel- 
tered from the cold winds coming down from North- 
ern Europe, and open to the south, the winter sea- 
son is mild, and subject to few sudden thermal vari- 
ations. The air is clear, pure, and bracing. Occa- 
9* 



202 WINTER HOMES FOR INVALIDS. 

sionally, as in all mountain lakes, storms suddenly 
spring up, bringing with them a cold wind which 
has an injurious effect on invalids who are exposed to 
its influence. There are, however, many places along 
the shores which are affected but little by the cold. 
The average range of the thermometer in April 
is sixty degrees ; in June, seventy-four degrees ; in 
October, sixty-one, and in January fifty-two degrees. 
The diurnal variations in winter do not exceed 
twelve degrees. Dr. Henry Bennet, of Mentone, 
considers the latter part of April, May and June as 
the best period for invalids to reside in the lake dis- 
tricts ; but as the rain-fall in April is excessive, it 
cannot be a suitable month for the sick. During 
December, January and February invalids who are 
not the subjects of advanced disease of the lungs, 
and who possess an average amount of health, can 
live comfortably in any of the villages on these lakes, 
and be considerably benefited by their sojourn. Pa- 
tients must keep in-doors whenever the cold winds 
come down from the mountains. When out-of- 
doors they should be provided with sufficient extra 
clothing to keep from taking cold. Extra clothing 



LOCATION OF THE LAKES. 203 

is necessary in any climate during winter, and espe- 
cially in a warm one, where sudden changes of tem- 
perature are felt to a greater degree than in more 
northern and colder regions. 

The Lake of Como is one of the largest of the 
Italian lakes. From the days of Pliny to the 
present time it has been renowned for the great 
beauty of its scenery, and its genial, mild and clear 
atmosphere. The lake resembles a river, being long 
and narrow. At its widest portion it measures two 
and a half miles, while in length it is thirty miles. 
It is about seven hundred feet above the sea-level. 
The peculiar characteristics of Italian scenery are 
found here in their highest perfection. Mountains 
precipitous in form and grand in outline, with their 
snow-covered tops peering above the clouds, guard 
the northern shore. Their slopes are covered with 
luxuriant groves of mulberry and olive-trees, and 
all along the shores white-walled villas peer out 
from among the groves and terraced gardens. 
There are many little villages on the shore, some 
from their position enjoying a milder climate 
than others. Varenna has a warm, sheltered situa- 



204 WINTER HOMES FOE INVALIDS. 

tion, but Bellagio and Cadenallia are more re- 
sorted to by Americans. There are excellent hotels 
and private boarding-houses in these places, where 
the invalid and tourist can find every modern con- 
venience. 

Invalids who arrive at the Lake from the south in 
winter must not attempt the passage of the Alps 
before the warm spring weather appears. 

Lake Maggiore, in point of scenery and climate, 
is inferior to Lake Como. It is protected on 
the south by the Alps, but is more exposed on 
the east. Sudden changes of temperature are 
more frequent here than at Lake Como, yet the 
winter all through is comparatively mild and 
pleasant. 

Lake Iseo is probably more completely sheltered 
than the other Italian lakes, being surrounded on all 
sides by towering mountains. It is fourteen miles 
long, three wide, and is close to the Alps. Numer- 
ous villages are scattered up and down along the 
mountain slopes to the borders of the lake. Lovere, 
a town at the head of the lake, is frequently visited 
by invalids. Lady Mary Montague made this place 



LOCATION OF TIIPJ LAKES. 205 

her home for a number of years. Many phy- 
sicians prefer Lake Iseo to the others as a health 
resort. As yet, however, it is not sufficiently fash- 
ionable to attract many visitors. 



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